A Different Beginning
by Scififan33
Summary: Bella spent a month in Forks as a child every summer. Before Renee's wedding she realises how unfair refusing to go back is to her Dad so decided to spend the month in Forks instead of making him go to California. What will this change?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight_

 _I have yet to decide on the end pairing, please vote in my ffnet poll to give me an idea. Thanks_

 **Chapter 1**

Bella lowered her book and looked out her bedroom window as shrieks of laughter drifted up, smiling as she saw Renee and Phil playing around in the backyard, fighting for the hose and both getting soaked. Summer had arrived and in three months she'd be seventeen and have a new stepdad, all in one month. She liked Phil, he was good for her Mom, he loved travel but was also a lot steadier than Renee. And that was why she'd been toying with an idea that had her rather nervous. She still had time to decide though, for now she really should finish packing.

She was leaving tomorrow for Forks to spend her yearly month with Charlie and she was nervous, it had been years since they'd spent the time in Forks, they'd met in California instead. Lately though she had realised how unfair that was to him, making him take a month of work and pay for accommodation out of state just because she didn't like the constant rain and small-town feel. It had been selfish and childish, two things she normally wasn't, and she didn't like realising she had been, but she was going to fix that. She would go to Forks and she would put a real effort into enjoying her time with Charlie. Yes, she was clumsy, but she'd gotten better in the last few years. She'd taken dancing up again and had worked hard at it, not wanting to be the klutz who was always hurting herself. She wouldn't win any awards, but she could now walk down the sidewalk without tripping over air. Maybe she would show him that by agreeing to go fishing or hiking with him without it ending in a trip to the ER.

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Edward dodged out of the way, nodding at the Chief's quick apology as the man passed, obviously in a hurry and then a small smile appeared as he caught the man's thoughts. He was very excited because his daughter was coming home to visit. He almost chuckled at the man's rushing thoughts. The chief was well respected in town and it was good to see him so happy. He was one of the few who accepted their odd family, a rare thing especially in small towns. Edward got in his car and drove home, relieved that Emmett and Rose had finally left their room and certain activities for the day, not even the best soundproofing could keep them from hearing and it was worse for him and Jasper since they both got a front row seat although at least Jasper had Alice when he got hit by the other couple's lust. Edward had no one when thoughts of such things threatened to overwhelm him, so he usually escaped to hunt or wander the town.

"It's safe," Jasper smirked as he walked in and Edward nodded. Jasper tilted his head, studying him. "You're cheerful, good walk?"

"Ran into Chief Swan and you would have loved it," Edward admitted as he walked upstairs.

"Oh?" Jasper asked as he followed. Out of all the Cullen, Jasper was closest to Rosalie, his 'twin', because she never judged him, even when he slipped up. Even Alice did, and she was his wife. EH and Edward were complicated, their gifts made them close, but their personalities and his past drove them apart. Still, they were family.

"His thoughts were giddy enough without being able to sense his emotions."

"Chief Swan?' Jasper wasn't sure he believed the man could be giddy, he was very reserved the two times Jasper had seen him.

"Apparently his daughter is arriving soon for a month's stay."

"I didn't know he had a child," Jasper admitted, maybe he should slip by the Chief's house tonight, bask in his emotions if he was still happy.

"His wife left him shortly after she was born and took her as well," Edward told him what he had caught in some people's thoughts when they'd seen the Chief. "She used to come every summer but stopped a few years ago and they would meet elsewhere. The townsfolk didn't like that too much."

"Poor man," Jasper admitted before heading for his study, mulling over what Edward had told him. Chief Swan was a good man, how could his wife have done that to him? He would never understand how someone could leave a good, loving partner and with a child involved?

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Bella headed through the airport and smiled as she spotted the police cruiser waiting. As she walked through the door she spotted Charlie leaning against it and quickly made her way over, smiling as he reached out to ruffle her hair.

"Hey kiddo," he greeted, taking her bags.

"Hey Dad," she greeted, getting in. it was raining but after the muggy heat of the last few days it felt nice.

"How was the flight?" he asked as he drove away from the airport.

"Screaming baby, the row behind me," she grimaced as she got comfortable, watching the scenery.

"Ah, fun," he agreed before they fell silent for the rest of the trip. Charlie parked outside the house and they went inside.

Bella couldn't see any changes from her last visit, the house felt frozen in time, like Charlie had never moved on from Renee leaving him, the only real change was the row of school photos, showing her growing up. It took only one trip to get all her stuff upstairs and into the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had been belonged to her since she was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window… these were all a part of her childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as she grew. The rocking chair from her baby days was still in the corner.

There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which Bella would have to share with Charlie, but she was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.

One of the best things about Charlie was that he didn't hover. He left her alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for Renee. It didn't take long to unpack since she was only going to be there for a month and a lot of her clothing wasn't suitable for the Forks climate anyway. Once she was done she headed downstairs and began rummaging in the pantry. Before starting dinner.

"You don't have to do that Bells."

"I like cooking Dad, besides a nice home cooked meal for my first night sounds good," she grinned, and he smiled back.

"Okay, but I'll do the dishes."

It was easy to fall into a comfortable pattern together, during the week she would wander the town or the hiking trails, never going too far and always with her phone, and on the weekends they would do something together. Her second weekend there they went to the Reservation for a BBQ at the Black's.

Bella got out of the cruiser and looked around, nothing had changed here since she was a child it seemed. She looked at the house as the door opened and a tall teen with long black hair emerged and she frowned before realising who he was, Jacob Black. They'd made mud pies together when they were little, down at the beach while their Dad's fished.

He grinned as he jogged over. "Hey Charlie! Grills already fired up."

"Great. Jake, you remember Bella?"

Jake grinned and hugged her. "Course I do, you remember me?" he asked as he stepped back, and she laughed.

"Yeah."

"Come on in," he led them into the house and they were soon laughing and talking as they got the food together while Charlie and Billy watched a game.

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Bella sat on the bed, utterly embarrassed even as she fought not to be sick or faint as she avoided looking at the blood on her jeans. She hated the sight of blood, always had, which hadn't been helped by her clumsiness. She'd been better, and this was her first emergency room visit in just over a year. She knew Charlie had been called and felt bad for pulling him away from work just because she could still trip over thin air. She ignored the nurse as the woman took her blood pressure and hovered.

"I heard the Chief's daughter was here," a new voice interrupted, and Bella looked up to see a man in a white doctors' coat approaching. He was maybe late 20's, blond, and movie star handsome. His face was kind, but pale, tired and he offered her a small smile. "I've got this one, Jackie," he took the chart and the nurse left. Dr. Cullen reviewed her chart, then loked up and smiled at her. "hello Isabella, I am Dr Cullen. Looks like you had quite the fall." He pulled a stool over and sat on it to take a closer look.

"It's Bella," she corrected as she looked away from what he was doing.

"Well, welcome back to Forks Bella. I hear it's been a few years since you were last here," he commented as he cut away the denim and then began treating the wound.

"Yeah… how long have you lived here?"

"Almost two years now," he injected some local, hearing her hiss in discomfort. The Chief was a good man, one of the few to accept them without any gossip or ill will and he respected the man. His daughter seemed a nice enough girl, though her scent was rather too pleasant, especially as she was bleeding. Another vampire would drain her, thankfully his control and willpower were far stronger. He had never fed from a human and while she was tempting she wasn't enough to break centuries of control. He quickly but gently stitched the wound in her knee up and then cleaned and bandaged it. "All done."

The doors opened, and Charlie walked through, relaxing when he saw Bella sitting on a bed, Dr Cullen on a stool in front of her. "Bella."

"I'm fine Dad," she smiled slightly for him and he let his hand rest on her shoulder.

"Dr Cullen," Charlie looked to the man tending his daughter.

"Chief Swan, Bella is right, she will be fine. The cut needed three stitches but was not too deep. She'll need to keep it clean and come back to have the stitches removed in fourteen days," Carlisle quickly filled him in and Charlie nodded in thanks.

Bella wanted to die from embarrassment over the whole thing. She also thought Doctor Cullen was incredibly handsome which was crazy since he had to be at least ten years older than her. "Thank you, Doctor Cullen."

"No problem, try and take it easy." He shook her hand briefly and she wondered at the coldness, but all doctors had cool hands. He watched as they left the ward, smiling at the sight of a family that was rarely together. He returned to his office to complete some charts.

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The cruiser was quiet as Charlie drove to the airport, the month had flown by and now she had to return home. There were a million things to organise for the wedding and she knew Renee wanted to throw her a party for her seventeenth as well. It was a nice thought, but it wasn't like she had loads of friends to invite, she'd just never fit in at school or anywhere. Renee's flighty nature had forced her to grow up faster than her classmates. Sometimes she almost resented Renee for not being more of a mother, for making her be the parent so often, but it was who Renee was and she loved her Mother. "Dad?"

"Yeah Bells?" he glanced at her.

"What would you think…if I did my last two years of high school at Forks High?" she asked, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

Charlie blinked, mind spinning. He knew Bella had never really liked Forks… "Why?"

"Because I miss you, because this way Renee can travel with Phil. I'll be going to college in two years and it would be nice to spend more time with you," she answered softly.

Charlie smiled slightly, "Okay, I'll talk it over with your Mom."

"Thank you."

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Jasper watched as Alice spaced out, lost in a vision so he just held her hand, waiting for it to end. "What is it?" he asked as she blinked.

"Just flashes…a girl, she's going to be very important to all of us."

 _TBC…._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Still not mine_

 _So far, Jasper is winning the poll for pairing. I may have Bella end up with Edward for some of the canon events even if he doesn't win._

 **Chapter 2**

It was a change, being back home in Arizona, the heat was a bit of a shock after a month of cold and wet. She'd made her choice though and it was best for all of them. Charlie would be happy if she moved in and she wanted to spend time with him before college. Phil would be happy to have Renee with him on the road and she knew her Mom would be happier on the road with him then stuck in Phoenix with her, they just had to convince Renee of that. It sucked that she'd miss the start of the new school year, but she couldn't leave before the wedding or the party for her birthday Renee had planned.

"Hey Bella," Phil sat beside her under the shade of the back porch.

She looked at him and smiled. "Hey."

"You sure about this? Moving? It's a big thing."

"I'm sure," she put her book aside. "I want to spend time with Dad before I go off to college and Mom will be happier on the road with you. You get to be newlyweds," she grinned, and he laughed.

"Thank you," he clapped her shoulder and she shrugged.

"Mom convinced yet?"

"Almost, sorry you'll be transferring over a month in to the new year."

"Better than moving even later like January or March," she shrugged it off.

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Bella smiled as she saw her Mom in her wedding dress. It was an A-Line/Princess V-neck knee-length chiffon sleeveless cocktail dress with ruffle in burgundy. Bella moved in to help put her Mom's hair up and then did her necklace up as well. "You look great Mom."

"So, do you sweetie," Renee smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Bella's ear. Bella's dress was similar in style, but her bodice was covered in lace, giving her dress short sleeves and a much higher neckline than her Mom's, her was also lighter in colour, Mulberry rather than Burgundy. Her hair was loose down her back and she wore only earing and a bracelet.

"Ready?"

"Ready." Renee grabbed her small bouquet and they left the bedroom for the car. The drive to the church didn't take long and soon they were walking down the aisle, Bella as bridesmaid. Phil was in a nice suite, waiting with the Minister at the end, the church full of friends and family. Bella took her Mom's bouquet and stood to the side as vows were exchanged, she was happy for them but in the back of her mind was the question of how long it would last. She didn't have much faith in the institution of marriage.

After the ceremony the party moved to a nearby restaurant and Bella sat beside her new stepfather as speeches were made and then food was served. She watched their first dance together and loved how happy they looked out there. She even danced with Phil once and happily managed to not hurt either of them.

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Bella sighed as she looked through the racks. Even with winter fast approaching the options in Phoenix were rather lacking when it came to clothing that would be useful in Forks. A lot of her clothes she was leaving behind since it never got hot enough to need them. She had hoped to get most of her shopping done here and then just ship it to Charlie's but obviously that wasn't going to work. Maybe she could convince him to spend the night in Port Angeles, so she could get her shopping done, she was arriving on Friday afternoon, so she had the weekend before school. She didn't want to freeze at school. She had money from working after school jobs, it should easily cover a new wardrobe, maybe even a second-hand car so she didn't have to rely on Charlie driving her everywhere in the cruiser.

She managed to find a handful of tops that she could use to layer her clothes before heading home to work on packing as well as finish her homework.

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"Is there trouble?" Rosalie asked warily as they spotted the police cruiser and Chief Swan as he walked to the office.

Edward watched him and then smiled slightly from the man's excited thoughts. "No trouble. He's here to enrol his daughter, she'll be arriving in two weeks to finish her last two years here."

"She'll be in our classes," Alice smiled happily, she wanted to know why the girl would be so important to their family.

"Alice?" Edward glanced at her as she took Jasper's hand and tugged him towards the school, so they wouldn't be late.

"We'll be late," she called, hiding her thoughts on her visions, she didn't want anyone to be influenced by what she'd seen. It was all so delicate, and she wanted to make sure nothing happened to ruin things before Bella even arrived.

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Bella taped up the last box and looked around the now empty room that had been hers since they moved to Phoenix when she was eight. She'd miss it, miss the view, but this move was the right thing for everyone. Maybe she would fit in at Forks high? Tomorrow was her last day of school here and then she'd be on a plane. Her boxes were being picked up in an hour, so they'd probably beat her to Forks so she could unpack right away. It'd be fun to find room for everything, her room in Forks was smaller but she'd manage. She headed downstairs and grinned as Phil walked in with boxes of pizza, no one feeling like cooking or cleaning up the kitchen on her last night. Soon her boxes were on their way and it was time for bed.

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Charlie opened the door and helped move the boxes up to Bella's room where brand new bedding awaited as well as a computer and printer. They weren't top of the line, but they were still functional, Dr Cullen had sold them to him when he'd heard he was looking. He'd been wanting to upgrade his home office and was happy for his old equipment to go to a good cause. He knew he hadn't been charged what they were worth, but he hadn't been able to argue with the good doctor. Soon the room was filled with boxes, but he didn't open any of them, that would be up to Bella. He glanced at his watch and went to get in the car, it wasn't a long drive to Port Angeles, but he wanted to check into the motel before picking her up, it felt weird spending the night so close to home, but it would save time and gas so that tomorrow she could buy the rest of what she needed.

It didn't take long to check in at the Travelers Motel where he'd booked two rooms for the night. He stored his overnight bag and then drove to the airport to wait for her flight to land.

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"Bella," her mom said - the last of a thousand times - before she got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."

Bella looked at her Mom and felt a spasm of panic as she stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could she leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course, she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still...

"I want to go," she promised, happy it wasn't a lie.

"Tell Charlie I said hi," Renee finally offered, and Bella smiled.

"I will."

"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want -I'll come right back as soon as you need me."

But she could see the sacrifice in her Mom's eyes behind the promise. "Don't worry about me," she urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."

She hugged Bella tightly for a minute, and then Bella got on the plane, and she was gone.

It's was a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle and another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, but finally she was collecting her single suitcase and heading out to find Charlie waiting for her with the cruiser. Her primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of her funds, was that she refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop. Charlie gave her an awkward, one-armed hug when she stumbled my way out of the airport. "It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied her. "How's Renee?"

"Mom's fine, the wedding went off without a hitch. It's good to see you, too, Dad," she smiled as they got in the cruiser.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when they were strapped in.

"What kind of car?" She was suspicious of the way he said, "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy." Bella just looked at him. "Well with Billy in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when she didn't respond, "he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."

"What year is it?" She could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping she wouldn't ask.

"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine - it's only a few years old, really."

She hoped he didn't think so little of her as to believe she would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"

"He bought it in 1984, I think."

"Did he buy it new?"

"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties - or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.

"Ch - Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic..."

"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."

"How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part she couldn't compromise on.

"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at her with a hopeful expression.

Wow. Free. "You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."

"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said that. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud, she had inherited that from him.

So, she was looking straight ahead as she responded. "That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by her thanks. There was no need for further discussion as he pulled into the motel parking lot. They got settled into their rooms before heading out for dinner and then collapsing into bed for the night.

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Late Saturday afternoon they finally arrived at the house. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was her new - well, new to her - truck. It was a faded red colour, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To her intense surprise, she loved it. She didn't know if it would run, but she could see herself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged -the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.

"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now her horrific day on Monday would be just that much less dreadful. She wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.

"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again. They went inside, and he carted her suitcase upstairs and then they got the shopping bags up there as well. Bella looked around, feeling lost at the sea of boxes already in the room, it had looked less when she'd packed it. "The Sears lady picked up the bed stuff. You like purple, right?"

"Purple's cool, thanks."

"Computer's second hand but still good. You remember Doctor Cullen?" When she nodded he continued. "He was updating his home office and heard you'd need one."

"Thanks Dad, it looks good."

"Right, well, I'll leave you to unpack."

Bella looked around and sighed, sitting down on the bed. At least she had a day before school started. Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven - now fifty-eight - students; there were more than seven hundred people in her junior class alone back home. All of the kids here had grown up together - their grandparents had been toddlers together.

She would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak. Maybe, if she looked like a girl from Phoenix should, she could work this to her advantage. But physically, she'd never fit in anywhere. She should be tan, sporty, blond - a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps - all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.

Instead, she was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. Bella had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; she didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating herself, even after years of dance classes and hard work - and harming both herself and anyone else who stood too close.

When she finished putting her clothes in the old pine dresser, she took her bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean up after the days of travel and shopping. She looked at her face in the mirror as she brushed through her tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already she looked sallower, unhealthy. Her skin could be pretty - it was very clear, almost translucent-looking- but it all depended on colour. She had no colour here, which meant digging out her rarely used makeup. She didn't like wearing it, but it would help give her a little colour tomorrow and it was only very light, not much more than tinted moisturiser really.

Facing her pallid reflection in the mirror, she was forced to admit that she was lying to herself. It wasn't just physically that she'd never fit in. And if she couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were her chances here?

Bella didn't relate well to people her age. Maybe the truth was that she didn't relate well to people, period. Even her Mother, who she was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with her, never on exactly the same page. Sometimes she wondered if she was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in her brain. But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And Monday would be just the beginning.

Sunday she was forced to brave the town since Charlie's shelves were scarily devoid of anything but coffee and beer. She kept her head down as she stocked up on the basics and a few extras to make a good dinner that night. She could hear the whispers, she didn't want to face the stares as well. Did they think she was deaf?

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"Bella Swan starts school tomorrow," Carlisle informed his 'children'.

"A new student, so what?" Rosalie demanded.

"I treated an injury for her when she was visiting. I want you to make sure you're all well fed for tomorrow since she may be in some of your classes, at least Edward and Alice's. Her blood is particularly nice smelling."

"Don't worry Carlisle, nothing bad will happen," Alice assured him before taking Jasper's hand and he smiled at her. They left to hunt anyway but he could sense it wasn't because Alice worried he would attack the girl or anyone else, it was for time alone.

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The next morning Bella dragged herself out of bed and double checked her messenger bag, a farewell gift from Phil. It was black with an abstract floral design in white and red and easily fit several notebooks, supplies, her wallet, everything she needed. She grabbed a pair of black jeans, underwear and one of her new long-sleeved tops, it was a medium purple colour. She grabbed a quick shower, braiding her hair back after to keep it out of the way. She then slipped on a pair of hiking boots she was still breaking in and a light grey wool jumper. She'd put on her make-up and had even slipped on a necklace and a pair of stud earrings in the shape of small white flowers. A bit dressier than normal but it was her first day, everyone would be staring anyway so she might as well look her best. She dumped her bag near the hall closet where her jacket was waiting and went to work preparing breakfast even as Charlie came down in his uniform.

"Thanks Bells. You ready for school? You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep. I had everything packed last night," she shrugged as she dished up bacon, eggs and toast with orange juice. Charlie downed his and then headed out for his shift. Bella cleaned up a little and then put her jacket on and headed out to her new truck, she was early, but she couldn't stand waiting around in the house any longer.

 _TBC…_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Still not mine_

 _So far Jasper is winning the poll with Edward in second, don't forget to vote. Poor Jake and Carlisle only have 1 vote each._

 **Chapter 3**

Alice smiled as she saw the old red truck pulling into the carpark and Jasper basked in her happiness even as he looked at the source. The truck parked and a teenaged girl dropped out of it, looking around the parking lot. He could feel her nervousness from across the lot and sent her a burst of calm and courage without even thinking about it.

Edward stared at the girl that had Alice practically bouncing in anticipation. He didn't see what had his sister so excited, she was pretty he guessed. She could do with better taste in cars. Why was Alice so sure she would be important to them. The only reason he could think of was that she was someone's mate. His? Or someone else's? He knew that despite the marriages that he wasn't the only one in the Family that wasn't mated, not that he ever told the others what he had overheard. Those were thoughts he would keep to himself. Besides, it was possible to be happy with someone other than your mate. He walked towards the school and his siblings followed.

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Finding the school wasn't difficult, though she'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made her stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-coloured bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs she couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?

She parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so Bella was sure it was off limits, but she decided that she would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. She stepped out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges, glad for the thick black jacket she'd bought over the weekend. She was not looking forward to winter if it was already so cold. Though a white Christmas might be nice for a change. She took a deep breath before opening the door and slipping through it, sighing in relief at the heat. Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than she'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly coloured flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses.

The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Isabella Swan," she informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. She was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife come home at last.

"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show her. She went through her classes for Bella, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave her a slip to have each teacher sign, which Bella was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at Bella and hoped, like Charlie, that she would like it here in Forks. Bella smiled back as convincingly as she could.

When Bella went back out to her truck, other students were starting to arrive. She drove around the school, following the line of traffic. She was very glad to see that most of the cars were older like hers, nothing flashy. At home she'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighbourhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out, even with the group of students in front of it. Still, she cut the engine as soon as she was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw too much attention to her.

She looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully she wouldn't have to pull it out of her bag again, how hard could it be to navigate such a small school? Bella stuffed everything in her bag, slung the strap over her shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, she lied to herself feebly. No one was going to bite her, right? She finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck, glancing around and trying not to drown in her nervousness. And then she blinked, feeling calmer, even a little braver. She glanced around, confused, but then shrugged it off. She forced herself to hold her head up as she walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. Thankfully her plain black jacket didn't stand out which was a big relief. She stopped as a guy cut across her path, grinning at her.

"You're Isabella Swan, the new girl. Hi, I'm Eric. The eyes and ears of this place. Anything you need. Tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on," he offered as they began walking again.

"I'm kind of the "suffer in silence" type," Bella finally offered, not sure what to think of him.

"Good headline for your feature," he laughed. "I'm on the paper, and you're news, baby, front page."

Bella froze in horror. "I - no, I'm not news - I'm, seriously, not at all…" she stammered, wanting that flash of courage back.

"Whoa, chillax. No feature," he rushed to reassure her, eyes wide at her reaction.

Bella took a deep breath and nodded, "thanks." She quickly moved away from him, just wanting to get to class. Once she got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. She felt her breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as she approached the door. She tried holding her breath as she followed two unisex raincoats through the door.

The classroom was small. The people in front of her stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks so she copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-coloured blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least her skin wouldn't be a standout here.

Bella took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at her when he saw her name - not an encouraging response - and of course Bella flushed tomato red. But at least he sent her to an empty desk at the back without introducing her to the class. It was harder for her new classmates to stare at her in the back, but somehow, they managed. Bella kept her eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given her. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. She'd already read everything. That was comforting... and boring. Bella wondered if her Mom would send her folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. She went through different arguments with her in her head while the teacher droned on. If all her classes were like this she was going to be very bored. The school offered nowhere near the diversity of subjects her old one had, including lacking some of the more advanced courses she had been taking. She hadn't really thought about that when she'd decided to move here. Maybe she could take some classes via correspondence or something? The more advanced classes would look better on College applications, especially when looking for scholarships.

She didn't even realise Eric was in the class until he met her at the door on the way out of class.

"Bella, where's your next class?" he asked.

She had to check in her bag. "Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six." There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.

"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way..." Definitely over-helpful but maybe trying to make up for the mess over the feature?

She smiled tentatively. "Thanks." They got their jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. She could have sworn several people behind them were walking close enough to eavesdrop. Bella hoped she wasn't getting paranoid.

"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.

"Very."

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?" he asked curiously, and she shook her head.

"Three or four times a year."

"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.

"Sunny," she told him, missing the sun already.

"You don't look very tan," he offered awkwardly, and she shrugged.

"My mother is part albino." He studied her face apprehensively, and she sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humour didn't mix. A few months of this and she'd forget how to use sarcasm. They walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym.

Eric walked her right to the door, though it was clearly marked. "Well, good luck," he said as she touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together," he sounded hopeful.

She smiled at him vaguely and went inside. Once her slip was dealt with she once again sat in the back of the room, glancing over what they were studying, at least in this class she hadn't already covered the work.

The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. Her Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who she would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made her stand in front of the class and introduce herself. She stammered, blushed, and nearly tripped over her boots on the way to her seat.

After two classes, she started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask her questions about how she was liking Forks. Bella did her best to be diplomatic, but mostly she just lied a lot, she had yet to find something she really liked about the town despite her decision to make the best of Forks. At least she never needed the map.

She followed Jessica, who she had Trig and Spanish with, to the Cafeteria and quickly grabbed some food from the line before sitting with her at a table. Jess quickly introduced her to Mike who grinned and stared a little too long.

Eric appeared, and squished into a seat next to Bella. "Mike, you met my home girl Bella."

"Your home girl?"

Jessica smiled tightly at Bella. "It's first grade all over again, and you're the shiny new toy."

Bella smiled awkwardly. Suddenly, a flash blinded Bella. She looked up at the photographer, blinking.

"Sorry, needed a candid for the feature," Angela offered as she sat.

"Feature's dead, Angela. Don't bring it up again," Eric snapped as he stood up. "I got your back, baby," he grinned at Bella before leaving.

"Guess we'll just run another editorial on teen drinking," Angela put the camera away, obviously disappointed.

"Sorry. There's always eating disorders," she offered but they didn't look impressed, "or Speedo padding on the swim team?"

"Wait, that's a good one..." Angela and Jessica giggled as they began discussing the swim team while Bella looked around since she didn't know who they were talking about.

Bella's eye was caught by a group sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where she sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at her, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, her attention.

They didn't look anything alike. All three boys were tall, but their body builds were very different, so was their hair colour, ranging from dark curls to messy bronze. Two of them looked like they could be in college, or even teachers at the school rather than students. The girls were opposites. One was tall, gorgeous and blond while the other was tiny with short black hair.

And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than Bella, the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes - purplish, bruise like shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. There was no way that was the reason, they couldn't all have the same injury and their noses were way too straight as well.

But that wasn't why she couldn't look away. Bella stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful - maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy. And… she'd seen features like that before, in the hospital, Dr Cullen. Where these his kids? Surely, he was too young?

They were all looking away, away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as Bella could tell. As she watched, the small girl rose with her tray, unopened soda, unbitten apple, and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. Bella watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than she would have thought possible. Just before she was out of sight the girl glanced at Bella, grinned and winked. Bella' eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.

"Who are they?" She asked Jessica quietly, though her gut said they had to be the Cullen's.

As she looked up to see who Bella meant, though already knowing, probably, from her tone, suddenly he looked at her, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps. He looked at Jessica for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to Bella's. He looked away quickly, more quickly than she could, though in a flush of embarrassment she dropped her eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest - it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.

Jessica giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife," she whispered, as if worried they would hear despite the distance between them.

Bella glanced sideways at the younger looking guy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet it felt he was speaking quietly to them. Strange, unpopular names, Bella thought. The kinds of names grandparents had, then again, her own name was fairly old fashioned, that was why she went by Bella. But maybe that was in vogue here - small town names? "They are... very nice-looking." Bella struggled with the conspicuous understatement.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though - Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together," her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, Bella thought critically. "I'm not sure it's even legal."

If she was g honest, she had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip. Though she was pretty sure Jessica was wrong about it being illegal, as long as they didn't share blood there was no reason they couldn't date. "Which ones are the Cullen's?" she asked curiously, unable to pick it. "They don't look related..." they didn't look much like Dr Cullen either.

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins - the blondes - and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children," Bella whispered, then again, they were here so they couldn't be more than eighteen, right?

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that," Jess shrugged, and Bella got the feeling she didn't approve somehow.

"That's really kind of nice, for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything," she said, defending the doctor who had been so nice when he'd stitched her up.

"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and Bella got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, Bella presumed the reason was jealousy. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness. Bella was beginning to regret sitting with her.

Throughout all their talking, Bella's eyes flicked again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat. As she examined them, one of the Cullen's looked up and met her gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As she looked swiftly away, it seemed to her that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation which was just plain odd, then again, the girl had winked at her, or had she been winking at someone else?

"Which one is the boy with the reddish-brown hair?" She asked, peaking at him from the corner of her eye, and he was still staring, but not gawking like the other students had today, he had a slightly frustrated expression. She looked down again.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently, none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes.

Bella bit her lip to hide her smile, she had the feeling Jessica felt slighted, she'd probably been turned down by him at some point. Then she glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but she thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too. "I wasn't planning on it."

"I mean, Dr. Cullen's like this foster Dad slash match maker," Jessica grumbled, and Angela giggled.

"Maybe he'll adopt me," she offered quietly, and Bella smiled at her.

After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful, even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at her again.

Bella sat at the table with Jessica and Angela longer than she would have if she'd been sitting alone. She was anxious not to be late for class on her first day. Angela had Biology II with her the next hour, so they walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Edward?" Jasper asked, seeing his brother continually glancing at one of the tables, feeling his frustration.

"The new girl, I can't hear her thoughts," he admitted.

"What was Alice thinking?" Rose demanded, having seen the smile and wink. She didn't care what she thought she saw, there was no way that they would be close to a human girl. They listened as Jessica pointed out who was who and Edward turned away when he heard Jessica grumbling over his not giving any of the girls his attention, smiling slightly as he heard her thoughts. They're talk moved on as they knew it would and they got up and left, throwing away the untouched food.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

When they entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones Bella was used to. She already had a neighbour, in fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the centre aisle, she recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.

As Bella walked down the aisle to introduce herself to the teacher and get her slip signed, she was watching him surreptitiously. Just as she passed, he suddenly went stiffened in his seat. He stared at her again, meeting her eyes with the strangest expression on his face - it was hostile, furious. Bella looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. She almost stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch herself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled. Bella had noticed that his eyes were black - coal black.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jasper stiffened in alarm, feeling Edward's thirst, panic and pain. "Hold your breath," he ordered, too quietly for a human to hear but he knew Edward would hear him.

"Need us?" Emmett asked from another classroom.

"No…Alice?" Edward pleaded for her vision.

"You can make it through class, I don't see any bloodbaths," she promised. "You can do it."

"Don't you dare make a scene, I am not moving," Rosalie spoke up firmly.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Mr. Banner signed Bella's slip and handed her a book with no nonsense about introductions. She could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send her to the one open seat in the middle of the room. She kept her eyes down as she went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given her.

Bella didn't look up as she set her book on the table and took her seat, but she saw his posture change from the corner of her eye. He was leaning away from her, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, she tugged her braid around as inconspicuously as possible and sniffed her hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of her favourite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odour. She let her braid drop back and almost wished she'd left her hair down to use as a curtain between them and tried to pay attention to the teacher. Unfortunately, the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something she'd already studied. Bella still took notes carefully anyway, always looking down, he might say something new and she didn't want to miss that.

Bella couldn't stop herself from peeking occasionally at the strange boy next to her. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from her as possible. She could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother. Did they all have gym membership or something?

The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally close to ending, or because she was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? Then again it could be the fear of her upcoming gym class. His fist never did loosen; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing which just wasn't possible. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behaviour? She questioned her judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as she'd thought. It couldn't have anything to do with her, he didn't know her. Bella took a deep breath and refocused on the class, determined to ignore him. Whatever was bugging him wasn't her problem.

Finally, the bell rang loudly, almost making her jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose, he was much taller than she'd thought, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.

Bella sat frozen in her seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. She began gathering up her things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled her, for fear her eyes would tear up. For some reason, her temper was hardwired to her tear ducts. Bella usually cried when she was angry, a humiliating tendency.

"Do you need any help finding your next class?" Mike asked, and she was relieved to hear a familiar voice, even if she'd only met him very briefly at lunch.

"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it," she admitted, dread pooling in her stomach.

"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.

They walked to class together; he was a chatterer and he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for Bella. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how she felt about the sun. It turned out he was in her English class as well. He was one of the nicest people she'd met today, Angela still held first place. Edward Cullen definitely came last.

As they were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."

Bella cringed. So, she wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behaviour. "We didn't even speak," she admitted.

"He looked like he was in pain or something."

"I don't know," she responded.

"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by her instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

Bella smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease her irritation. The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found her a uniform but didn't make her dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of P.E. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally her personal hell on Earth. She watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries she had sustained - and inflicted - playing volleyball, she felt faintly nauseated. Hopefully they would move on to something else tomorrow, though knowing her luck it would be even worse than volleyball.

The final bell rang at last. Bella walked slowly to the office to return her paperwork. The rain had stopped for now, but the wind was strong, and colder, she wrapped herself arms around herself, missing the heat and thankful for her warm jacket and boots. When she walked into the warm office, she almost turned around and walked back out.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of her. He didn't appear to notice the sound of her entrance, thankfully. He stood pressed against the back wall, arguing with the receptionist in a low voice. She quickly picked up the gist of the argument, he was trying to trade from fifth-hour Biology to another time, any other time.

She just couldn't believe that this was about her. It had to be something else, something that happened before she entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to her.

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, tugging at her braid. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at Bella with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, she felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on her arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled her more than the freezing wind, but she forced herself to keep her head up and not cower. He turned back to the receptionist.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." He turned on his heel without another look at Bella and disappeared out the door.

She walked to the desk, still confused and now getting a bit angry, to the desk, and handed over the signed slip.

"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.

"Fine," Bella lied, voice weak. She didn't look convinced.

When she got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home she had in this damp green hole. Bella sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly, but soon she was cold enough to need the heater, so she turned the key and the engine roared to life. She headed back to Charlie's house, not sure what to think of her first day. She'd maybe made some friends? And apparently an enemy.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Alice sighed as she saw Edward's decision to head to their cousins in Denali. For once he wasn't listening to her when she told him he wouldn't kill Bella. But she couldn't let him see her visions, not when so much was undecided. It was confusing enough for her to see what she did, she didn't want to get his hopes up when it wasn't definite. Bella could be his Mate…or she could be someone else in the Family's… she'd always thought you had one mate and that was it but obviously something that could happen would affect that potential bond and shift it from being matched to one to another. She would prefer if Bella and Edward were mates, because he deserved to finally have someone, but if she pushed too much she could push them too far apart.

Edward would be gone for some time but that didn't mean she couldn't approach Bella and try to be friends. Help integrate her into the family and get her used to them before he could complicate things with his draw to her blood.

 _TBC…._

 _Yes, there's bits from the movie and the book for her first day._


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

 _I have decided on the eventual pairing for Bella, that doesn't mean they will get together from the start._

 **Chapter 4**

Alice grinned as she spotted the girls truck pulling in. She grabbed Jasper's hand and pulled him along before being hit by his broadcast confusion and wariness.

"Alice?"

"Trust me," she tossed him a smile before stopping beside the truck as it was turned off and then Bella Swan dropped down.

"Oh, um, hi?" Bell looked between the two, unsure, especially after how their brother had acted in class yesterday.

"Hi Bella, I'm Alice and this is Jasper," Alice quickly introduced them with a smile.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she offered, unable to keep from smiling at the other girl, she was just so…bouncy. She had to look up to see Jasper, all the men in the family seemed to be tall.

"Sorry about Alice," Jasper offered, and Bella caught just the hint of an accent.

"Anyway, Edward asked us to pass on his apologies for how yesterday must have looked. He would have himself, but he flew out last night. He has a big audition for Juilliard, between that and some issues he's been having with Biology…well, when he realised, he felt so ashamed of himself." Alice explained happily. The last thing she wanted was for Bella to hate Edward or something. She still wasn't sure when he'd be back or if, he wasn't making any decisions. Her excuse was one the family could easily use long term to explain his absence though, if necessary.

"Oh…wow." It was a relief to hear it wasn't her that had made him so mad, especially since they hadn't spoken or anything. "I hope he gets in. what instrument does he play?"

"Piano," Alice gently herded Bella into walking with them, ignoring Rosalee's glare. "It'll be sad if he gets in since it means he'll be away for the school year, but it is such an amazing opportunity how could the family say no?"

Jasper listened, glad Alice had managed to explain away Edward's reaction to the girl. He was being very careful to only give the appearance of breathing, if her scent had driven Edward to such bloodlust there was no way he wanted to test his control near her. Her emotions made a refreshing change from most of the other students when they were near, only Angela came close. There was no envy or anything else negative from Angela towards anyone, even them, and it was very refreshing. If he trusted himself more, he may have tried to befriend the girl. Now here was another girl like Angela, one he had to keep himself in control around for Alice, she was sure Bella was important to their family and he would not jeopardise anyone's happiness. The only reason he could think of was that she was someone's mate.

"Well, thanks for explaining, it was nice to meet you both," Bella smiled and then slipped away to her first class. They seemed an odd couple to her but maybe his quietness had a calming effect on Alice? Class proved to be just as dull as the day before though she was living in dread of gym at the end of the day since she'd have to participate. At lunch she sat with the same group, listening to them talk about things she didn't know.

The days passed and she began to settle into the routine of school and living with Charlie. It was so different to what she was used to. Here she wasn't expected to handle the expenses or do all the shopping, as long as there was a list, and Charlie even made breakfast most mornings, although that seemed the limit of his culinary skills. How he'd survived so long on his own…

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Alice frowned, frustrated, too many decisions needed to be made for her visions to clear up and no one was making them! Her and Jasper speaking with Bella had helped some, but it wasn't enough. Edward needed to grow up and decide. A gentle hand rested on her shoulder and she leant back against him.

"What is it?" Jasper asked softly, feeling her frustration and just wanting to help. When she stood up, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

"Hunt with me?" she asked, and he nodded, loosening his hold. She grabbed his hand and they leapt through the window, taking off deep into the woods. She quickly took down two deer and Jasper snagged the mountain lion that had been stalking them. They drained their dinner and then buried the carcasses. Instead of turning back Alice sat on a log and Jasper joined her.

"How can I help?" He asked, not liking to see her like this and she leant against him.

"So many decisions need to be made," she admitted. "Bella is going to be part of this family, one of us."

Jasper blinked, she'd said important before, he'd assumed a friend for Alice while they lived her. But one of them? How? Carlisle had explained the treaty to them when they were moving. None of them could bite a human without risking the wolves attacking, not that he was all that concerned with a bunch of overgrown dogs.

"It's so confusing…vampires have one mate, for life. But I see Bella with different people…like events and actions will change who's mate she could be."

"Maybe because she is human? Humans change and grow in ways we don't. as she changes with events, she becomes better suited for someone else? How many vampires meet their mate when that mate is still human?"

"Carlisle," she answered immediately, but he was the only one they knew of.

"Who are the options?"

"Edward, obviously. There's only a small window for them and he messes it up so many times," she shook her head. Bella and Edward could be mates, could be utterly happy together for eternity, but it all relied on Edward coming back and not being an ass or control freak. As long as he came back, she saw them together, it just wasn't always meant to be. The next option was the one she was torn over.

"Alice? What is it?" he took her hands in his. What could make her feel… "Me…I'm one of the possibilities?" he whispered, and she nodded. He was shocked, how could this be…he knew they weren't mates, had known within a few weeks but he didn't care. Alice had been the first since he had been turned to look past the red eyes and scars and see him. He hated to think what would have become of him if he hadn't walked into that diner.

It hadn't been love at first sight, he hadn't been capable of such a thing. But love had grown as she stayed by his side even when he struggled so much with the animal diet. Yes, sometimes her emotions let him know just how much his slips upset her, but she never left him. He had basked in her feelings for him and had come to return them. It had taken him years to let his barriers down with her and he still struggled with the rest of the family. When they had approached and he had seen the size of the family, coven as he had thought of them back then, he had felt fear for the first time in a long time, fear that he had followed Alice to his death. It had taken time for him to accept that he wasn't in danger, wasn't going to be used for his gift or fighting abilities. Yes, the Cullen's had been startled, even wary of him in the beginning, how could they not be once they glimpsed the marks that littered his skin? It had been Rose who had made the first deeper attempts at understanding and friendship with him and it was why he was happy to be called her twin, they were siblings in a way. Emmett had followed her lead, happy to have another guy around. His relationship with Edward had been more difficult, despite their gifts complimenting each other. Every time he was tempted…Edward knew. It had made things rocky between them, especially when he had gotten lost in memories of the wars, but he thought they had grown closer more recently.

He loved Alice, he would stay with her for eternity and now she was telling him Bella could be his mate? He didn't need a mate.

"Jasper no," she whispered, cradling his head against her chest, kissing his hair. "I love you so much, I am not throwing you aside. If Bella is your mate, I will still love you, it will just mean a change in our relationship. This isn't set in stone, I didn't want you to know you were a possibility because I don't want you subconsciously sabotaging things. There's another option if Edward messes up and it's someone we know, though not a Cullen," she tried to get his mind off thoughts of them parting. The thought of no longer being with him hurt but she had seen how happy they could be together, how close she and Bella would be.

"Who?"

"Garrett, Carlisle's old friend."

Jasper nodded, he liked Garrett. The nomad was lonely but rarely visited, a mate would do him good. From what he had seen and felt of Bella, he thought she would be able to accept Garrett although he doubted she would be alright with him continuing to feed from humans, especially if her first exposure to their kind was through the family. He looked at Alice, seeing the hesitancy. "What else pixie?" he managed a smile, wrapping his arms around her.

"The weirdest visions were of Bella….and Carlisle."

Huh…he could never have imagined that in a million years. "But Esme is his mate." A blind man could see that.

"I know. Like I said, weird." The Bella in those visions was very different to in others, older somehow. As if, she had been born in another time to be with Carlisle. Maybe it was a message to say that Bella could have been Carlisle's mate if he never met Esme? Who knew. She just knew that the pairing was even less likely than Bella and Edward which was good as far as she was concerned, it would be odd to call Bella mother and Carlisle was pretending to be almost thirty while Bella was still a teenager, that would have caused some major problems. "Don't worry about it Jasper, please. It's all so changeable, except for her joining the family. Don't let this colour your interactions with anyone but especially her."

He wasn't sure that was possible, but he would try. She smiled at him, obviously seeing that and they got up to return home.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Edward dropped the Caribou he'd just finished draining and sat back in the snow. He hated being away from the family and it was all that girls fault. He knew what a Singer was, had seen Emmett kill two of his and had listened to Carlisle's explanations. He couldn't stop thinking about her…about her scent…the taste of her blood…he clenched his hands into fists. If he gave in he knew it would disappoint not only Carlisle, but Esme and he didn't want to hurt them. Then there was Chief Swan, he knew how excited the man had been to have his daughter home, how deep would his grief be if she died? He couldn't go back to Forks, not only was the girl in danger but if he killed her the whole family would be at risk of discovery, especially if any wolves were still around. Carlisle said they were gone, that his meeting with the Elders had made that clear but without hearing their thoughts himself he wouldn't believe it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"What are you doing Alice?" Rosalie demanded as she finally cornered her sister who smiled innocently at her.

"Cleaning my closet."

"You know what I mean," she snapped, crossing her arms. "She's human!"

"For now," Alice agreed, as she put aside some older clothing to go into a donation bag. She loved shopping but she also liked giving what she no longer wore to those who needed it more.

"Alice."

"Bella will be one of us, a member of this family. I've seen it. Would you deny someone their mate?" Alice stared at Rosalie, saw the small flinch.

"She should live a human life."

"Just because that's what you wanted, doesn't mean everyone does Rose. There are a lot of women who don't dream of children," she pointed out as gently as she could. "I tried seeing her future without us…there's nothing to see within a year or two." Without their intervention Bella would be dead by twenty, not married with kids. That was the only explanation for her future to vanish. "The boys outnumber us; won't it be nice when they don't?" she smiled, and Rosalie hesitated.

Rosalie was shocked, no future? How could Alice not see her future? Unless…she would die? She hated this life, what she was. But she also loved Emmett more than anything. Edward was the only single in the family, could she condemn her brother to eternity alone because of how she felt? Could she condemn this girl to a young death? "The Volturi…"

"There's no reason for them to hear about her and if they did we could simply explain that we are waiting until graduation when she can vanish without people looking so much." She wasn't sure that would work but she didn't see them finding out until after Bella was one of them.

"Fine," Rosalie left her to her cleaning.

 _TBC…_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

 _Relied on the book for events in this chapter although I mixed the timeline around a bit._

 **Chapter 5**

Bella put her book aside and headed downstairs as she heard the front door open. She'd lost track of time doing her English homework, so she quickly ran to the kitchen and took the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.

"Bella?"

"In the kitchen!" She called out as she began setting the table, hearing as Charlie locked his gun belt up. To her knowledge, he'd never had to shoot the gun and when she'd been younger he used to take the bullets out before locking it away, just to be extra safe. It seemed silly now since there was no way she could have gotten past the lock as a child. She'd barely seen him since school had started, his shifts lining up badly with her school schedule, so it was nice to be having dinner together. "Welcome home," she smiled as he walked in, still in uniform.

"What's for dinner?" he asked as he looked at the stovetop and oven.

"Steak and potatoes," she answered, biting back a laugh at his relieved look. Her Mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible….sometimes they were downright dangerous. That was partially why she'd taken over cooking duties as soon as she could. She was surprised Charlie still remembered that. He nodded and retreated to turn the TV on while she put a salad together. She called him in when it was done and he grabbed a beer, getting out a soda for her while she dished the food up.

"Smells good, Bells."

"Thanks," she smiled, and they began to eat. Neither of them was bothered by the quiet, unlike her Mom who would have tried to fill it and make it uncomfortable. She really was more like her Dad.

"So, how has school been? Made any friends?" he asked as he took seconds.

"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice, especially Angela." She didn't bother mention Edward Cullen's weird behaviour since Alice had explained, she hoped if he returned they could start again since they were lab partners.

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here," Charlie filled her in.

"Do you know the Cullen family?" she asked hesitantly. She was curious about them, there was something about them…

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school," Bella admitted, she understood that. She'd never fit in at any school and was shocked that she was so accepted here. Was it because of her Dad being the Chief? Or did they really like her?

Charlie surprised her by looking angry. "People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature, I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should, camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk." It was the longest speech she'd ever heard Charlie make. He must have felt very strongly about whatever people were saying.

Listening to him, it made her mad on the Cullen's behalf. Dr. Cullen had been so kind and gentle when stitching her up. Alice was just so bubbly that it was impossible to be annoyed by her. Jasper was harder to read, he was…still, maybe he was as shy as she was? "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves," she shrugged. "I talked to Alice Cullen and…Jasper Hale, they were nice. They're all very attractive," she added, trying to be more complimentary.

"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."

They lapsed back into silence as they finished eating. He cleared the table while she started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after she finished washing the dishes by hand, no dishwasher, she went upstairs, unwillingly to work on her math homework. She could feel a tradition in the making and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Did she want to make traditions? No matter how much she hated Forks she loved her Dad, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have their own traditions, even if they were very simple and rather dull.

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Edward parked in the driveway, happy to be home. He may consider the Denali cousins, but he could only stand their company for limited amounts of time before they drove him mad. The sisters saw him as a challenge, trying to get him to give in to their charms. In the end he had decided that he could not stay there for however long the family would be in Forks. He was not a coward, he would not run from his problems. Maybe, if he got to know Miss Swan somewhat it would lessen his desire for her blood, or at least make it easier to fight it. Surely it was harder to harm someone you knew? Her coming to Forks had made Charlie Swan so happy, the man had been their main defender, especially to the Quileute. He would not make the man grieve his only child.

He got out of his car and Esme appeared, smiling happily at seeing him again. "Oh Edward," she whispered, hugging him tight. "I'm so glad you're home. Carlisle is at the hospital, Jasper and Alice are hunting but Rosalie and Emmett are home," she told him as she guided him into the house. Edward relaxed further as the scents of his family washed over him. It was good to be home.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sunday morning they were up early, Charlie dressed for fishing, and then they drove to La Push. He would be picking Billy up and she would spend the day with Jacob and some of the other kids. She was glad she'd spent time during the summer in Forks, it made showing up less awkward since they'd reconnected then. They drove separately so she wouldn't be stranded for the whole weekend.

"Bella!" Jake cried, pulling her into a hug and spinning her, making her laugh and stumble when he put her down.

Billy laughed at the sight. "I'm glad you're here Bella, you're all Jake's talked about all week," he teased, and she blushed slightly.

"Dad!" Jake hissed, embarrassed. "Go fish or something."

Billy and Charlie laughed but headed off and the two teens walked from the house to pick up the Clearwater's, Embry and Quill, before heading to the beach.

The mile-long crescent of First Beach was still breathtaking, no matter how many times she saw it. The water was dark grey, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving to the grey, rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, uniformly grey from a distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta, sea green, lavender, blue grey, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the edge of the forest fringe, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the waves. There was a brisk wind coming off the waves, cool and briny. Pelicans floated on the swells while seagulls and a lone eagle wheeled above them. The clouds still circled the sky, threatening to invade at any moment, but for the moment the sun shone bravely in its halo of blue sky. They picked their way down to the beach, Jake leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties like ours before. There was a fire circle already in place, filled with black ashes.

Embry went to work, and they soon had a bonfire goings, smores being handed around. Bella was intrigued by the colours coming from the driftwood fire, strange blue and green flames crackling toward the sky.

"I'm glad you're here, it's nice not being the only girl," Leah offered as they watched the boys play fight.

"Glad I could help," Bella answered, laughing as they teamed up and dumped Jake in the sea. Hearing her laugh as he surfaced he headed for her and she scrambled up. "Don't you dare!" she warned, backing away. She yelped as he caught her around the waist and put her over his shoulder. "Put me down!" she struggled but Jake was taller and stronger, despite being younger. "Help!" she looked back to Leah who got up only to be blocked by the other three. Jacob moved to toss her in, and she shrieked but then he dropped her to her feet in the wet sand.

"Not funny," she shook her head and retreated. Eventually they headed for the tidal pools, walking through the woods briefly before emerging at the tidal pools. It was low tide, and a tidal river flowed past them on its way to the sea. Along its pebbled banks, shallow pools that never completely drained were teeming with life.

"So how do you like the truck?" Jacob asked as they walked, occasionally reaching out to keep her from falling in, she'd done that a lot as a kid when at the pools with Charlie.

"I love it. It runs great."

"Yeah, but it's really slow," he laughed. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. Dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a perfectly good vehicle right there."

"It's not that slow," she objected, defending her truck.

"Have you tried to go over sixty?" he smirked, and she thought about it before shaking her head.

"No," she admitted.

"Good. Don't," he grinned.

She couldn't help grinning back. "It'll do great in a collision," she offered in her truck's defence.

"I don't think a tank could take out that old monster," he agreed with another laugh. "Be careful though, no airbags," he warned, and she nodded.

"So you build cars?" she asked, impressed, she hadn't heard that during her visit. They'd stuck to the house or beach during her visit when she'd come to the Res, or had been with their Dad's and the others for BBQ.

"When I have free time, and parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" he added jokingly.

"Sorry," she laughed, "I haven't seen any lately, but I'll keep my eyes open for you." As if she knew what that was, but Jake knew that. She should probably learn some about cars, so she could do things like change the oil when needed, it would save money if she could do it herself. "Think you could offer some lessons?"

Jake blinked but then grinned. "Sure thing, you come with your Dad on a Saturday and I'll teach you how to look after that monster."

"Deal."

"So, how's school? Bet you're the most popular girl there," he nudged her arm.

Bella groaned, "I prefer not being in the spotlight. It's…school. Having to take gym is a real pain, literally. There isn't the selection of subjects I'm used to so I'm looking at doing some online work."

"You think that's bad, you should try the Res school."

"Yeah, it must be bad being even smaller," she didn't want to imagine it. "I guess I'm making friends? There's a group I sit with for lunch and I've spoken with Alice Cullen a few times."

"Cullen?" Jake asked in surprise and she nodded.

"Do you know them?" She asked, curious and Jake shook his head.

"The Cullen's don't come here," Embry answered as he walked past them.

"What did he mean?" she asked once he was out of earshot.

"The Cullen's? Oh, they're not supposed to come onto the reservation." He looked away, out toward the ocean.

"Why not?" she pressed, why did people not like them? Other than Edward, those she'd met had been very kind.

He glanced back at her, biting his lip. "Oops. I'm not supposed to say anything about that," he grimaced slightly. He didn't understand why his Dad and the Elders insisted on secrecy though, it was stupid.

"Oh, I won't tell anyone, I'm just curious," Bella rolled her eyes, but she was very curious.

"Do you like scary stories?" he asked ominously, trying to build atmosphere. Seriously, what could it hurt to tell her? Charlie was practically an honorary member of the tribe anyway.

"I love them," she laughed, she didn't really but she was committed to hearing what they thought of the Cullen's. Something about that family drew her in, in a way that she had never felt before.

Jacob strolled to a nearby driftwood tree that had its roots sticking out like the attenuated legs of a huge, pale spider, sitting at the edge of the pools, closer to the ocean. He perched lightly on one of the twisted roots while she sat beneath him on the body of the tree. He stared down at the rock pools, a smile hovering around the edges of his broad lips. Bella could see he was going to try to make this good, so she focused on making sure she didn't act scare. "Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from…the Quileute's, I mean?" he began.

"Not really," she admitted, feeling bad for not knowing much. She'd known the Black's since she was a baby, why had she never learnt more about their people, their culture? She really had been a self-absorbed kid.

"Well, there are lots of legends, some of them claiming to date back to the Flood, supposedly, the ancient Quileute's tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark," he smiled, to show her how little stock he put in the histories. "Another legend claims that we descended from wolves, and that the wolves are our brothers still. It's against tribal law to kill them. Then there are the stories about the cold ones," his voice dropped a little lower.

"The cold ones?" she asked, not faking her intrigue now. Dr. Cullen's hands had been colder than normal when he treated her.

"Yes. There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more recent. According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land," he rolled his eyes.

"Your great-grandfather?"

"He was a tribal elder, like my father. You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf—well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."

"Werewolves have enemies?" she asked even as her mind mulled over Jacob's lineage, he was descended from Chief's and Elders.

"Only one," he paused for a second. "So you see," Jacob continued, "the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did, they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale faces," he winked at her.

"If they weren't dangerous, then why… ?" she tried to understand, struggling not to let him see how seriously she was considering his ghost story, which was ridiculous, most doctors had cold hands.

"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized like this clan was. You never know when they might get too hungry to resist," he deliberately worked a thick edge of menace into his tone.

"What do you mean, 'civilized'?"

"They claimed that they didn't hunt humans. They supposedly were somehow able to prey on animals instead."

"So how does it fit in with the Cullen's? Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?" she was a bit confused about how the two things were linked.

"No," he paused dramatically. "They are the same ones." He must have thought the expression on her face was fear inspired by his story. He smiled, pleased, and continued. "There are more of them now, a new female and a new male, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time they already knew of the leader, Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people had even arrived." He was fighting a smile.

"And what are they?" She finally asked. "What are the cold ones?" she was very confused.

He smiled darkly. "Blood drinkers," he replied in a chilling voice. "Your people call them

vampires."

She stared out at the tidal river after he answered, not sure what her face was showing as she struggled to come to term with what Jacob had said. It wasn't possible, was it? Though…maybe that wold explain Edward?

"You have goose bumps," he laughed delightedly.

"You're a good storyteller," she complimented him, still staring into the water.

"Pretty crazy stuff, though, isn't it? No wonder my dad doesn't want us to talk about it to anyone."

She couldn't control her expression enough to look at him yet. "Don't worry, I won't give you away," she promised. Who would she tell without sounding crazy?

"I guess I just violated the treaty," he laughed.

"I'll take it to the grave," Bella promised, and then she shivered.

"Seriously, though, don't say anything to Charlie. He was pretty mad at my dad when he heard that some of us weren't going to the hospital since Dr. Cullen started working there."

"I won't, of course not."

"So do you think we're a bunch of superstitious natives or what?" he asked in a playful tone, but with a hint of worry.

Bella still hadn't looked away from the water. She turned and smiled at him as normally as she could. "No. I think you're very good at telling scary stories, though. I still have goose bumps, see?" She held up her arm and sure enough there were small bumps over the skin.

"Cool," he smiled.

"Hey you two! Come on!" Quill yelled so they stood and headed back to the beach, making some more smores before heading back. Bella got in her truck and waved goodbye, heading home. She had a lot to think about now. She made sure she had a healthy dinner since her lunch had been junk and then did some homework before bed. She glanced at her computer a few times but decided to leave it, she could ponder the legends more later. Vampires didn't exist, they were just stories.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Alice checked her visions, seeing Bella with Edward, looking at him lovingly and smiled. Edward deserved to finally be happy and she hoped it worked out for them, that he wouldn't ruin it like she had seen several times. She checked on Bella and sighed, house work on a weekend? She wished they were closer already so she could drive over and rescue her.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

One Sunday Bella cleaned the house, got ahead on her homework, and wrote her mom a more cheerful e-mail. She did drive to the library, but it was so poorly stocked that she didn't bother to get a card; she would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. Bella wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got… and shuddered at the thought. The rain had stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so she was able to sleep well, despite Jake's scary story. It was just crazy superstition, wasn't it? And yet she wasn't able to fully push it out of her mind.

People greeted her in the parking lot Monday morning. Bella still didn't know all their names, but she waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by her side. They had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy, she'd read the book several times over the years and had studied it in class before. All in all, she was feeling a lot more comfortable than she had thought she would feel by this point. More comfortable than she had ever expected to feel in Forks. Maybe she would actually be happy here?

When they walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. She could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at her cheeks, her nose.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

She looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past her face. "Ew." Snow. There went her good day.

He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes, you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips," she grimaced, and he stared at her. "What?"

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure I have," she paused. "On TV. I lived in Arizona and before that California, they aren't known for snow."

Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. They both turned to see where it came from. Bella had her suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward them…in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" she kept walking as she spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside." She was cold enough already, thank you.

He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. Bella kept her mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain, until it melted in your socks.

She walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. Bella kept a binder in her hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica thought she was hilarious, but something in Bella's expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at her, herself. Mike caught up to them as they walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as they got in line to buy food. Bella glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit, Alice always waved or smiled hello, so did Jasper most days. And then she froze where she stood. There were five people at the table.

Jessica pulled on her arm. "Hello? Bella? What do you want?"

Bella looked down; her ears were hot. She had no reason to feel self-conscious, she reminded herself, she hadn't done anything wrong.

"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.

"Nothing," Bella answered. "I'll just get a soda today." She caught up to the end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," she said eyes still on the floor. She waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, eyes on her feet. She sipped her soda slowly, her stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how she was feeling. Bella told him it was nothing, why did she feel like this? She took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. She had done nothing wrong, Edward had just been overly stressed when they met. He was back now; did that mean he hadn't been accepted? He would surely be disappointed if that was the case so she wouldn't say anything. She was basically an adult and she would handle Biology like an adult.

She glanced at them, they were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair

entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else, only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of them. But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and she couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. She examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, flushed from the snow fight maybe, the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. Alice glanced her way and waved and then Jasper nodded at her as well, so she waved in greeting before turning back to her soda. Vampires….yeah right. Jacob was right, the stories were crazy. She felt bad for them, for all the rumours people like Lauren and Jessica spread about them, how the people on the Reservation refused to go to the hospital just because Dr. Cullen was there.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following where she had been looking before and Bella couldn't help glancing back.

At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet hers. She dropped her head, letting her hair fall to conceal her face. Bella was sure, though, in the instant their eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time she'd seen him. He looked merely

curious again, unsatisfied in some way.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in her ear.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" She couldn't help asking.

"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," she confided.

"The Cullen's don't like anybody… well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him," Bella hissed.

She snickered, but she looked away. Mike interrupted them then — he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted them to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. Bella kept silent, she would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.

For the rest of the lunch hour Bella very carefully kept her eyes at her own table. She didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual, he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers, but when they went to the door, everyone besides her groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. Bella pulled her hood up, secretly pleased, she would be free to go

straight home after Gym. Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Edward glanced away from his family as he caught Jessica's thoughts and found her sitting with Bella. Once again, there was utter silence from the girls mind, it was like she wasn't even there.

'Edward?' Jasper's concerned thought reached him, and he shrugged minutely.

"I still can't read her," he admitted too quietly for anyone but his family to hear.

"Will you be alright in class?" Rose asked, worried he'd snap, and they'd have to move again. Edward nodded even as Alice smiled.

"You'll be fine, just talk to her," she told him.

Edward nodded, finally looking away from Bella. He would not disappoint his family by slipping. Except for when he'd left the family, he'd never touched human blood, he would not slip now.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Once inside the classroom, she saw with relief that her table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. Bella took her seat and doodled in her notebook while waiting for class to start. She heard very clearly when the chair next to her moved, but she refused to look over and appear nosey.

"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.

Bella looked up, stunned that he was speaking to her. He was sitting as far away from her as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward her so that was an improvement, right? His hair was still dripping wet, dishevelled, but he still looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful. "My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

"Yes. Your sister told me about your audition, I hope it went well," she offered, and he smiled.

"It did, thank you. The next opening they have is mine."

"Congratulations. Your family must be very proud. Alice sounded very excited for you."

"Thank you," he managed a small smile for her, but it looked strained, pained almost. Was he not happy with the result?

Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. She tried to concentrate as he explained the lab for the day, biting back an annoyed groan as she realised it was something she had done before. Wonderful. Couldn't they cover something new in one of her subjects, other than math? The slides in the box were out of order, working as lab partners, the had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly, without checking the textbook. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right. "Get started," he commanded.

"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. She looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that she could only stare at him like an idiot. "Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if she was mentally competent.

"No," she said, flushing. "I'll go ahead." Maybe she was showing off, just a little, since she knew what she was looking for, making it easy. She checked the first side and grinned, confident. "Prophase."

"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as she began to remove the slide. His hand caught hers, to stop her, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class, immediately bringing the legends back to her mind. She shook those thoughts off, it was cold, and the Cullen's had been fooling around in the snow and rain which could explain it. "I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. She watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than she had. "Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on their worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and

then glanced at it cursorily. "Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.

Bella kept her voice indifferent. "May I?" He smirked and pushed the microscope to her. She looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right. "Slide three?" She held out her hand without looking at him. He handed it over; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch her skin again. She took the most fleeting look she could manage. "Interphase." She passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. She would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated her a little. She didn't want to spoil the page with her clumsy scrawl. Did he take calligraphy classes or something? Her Mom had tried that once and had dragged her into it as well, it was one of Her Mom's hobby attempts that she hadn't minded. They were finished before anyone else was close. She could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table. Which left her with nothing to do but try to not look at him…unsuccessfully. Bella glanced up, and he was staring at her, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes. Suddenly she identified a subtle difference in his face. "Did you get contacts?" She blurted out unthinkingly.

He seemed puzzled by her unexpected question. "No."

"Oh," she mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."

He shrugged, and looked away.

In fact, she was sure there was something different. Bella vividly remembered the flat black colour of his eyes the last time he'd glared at her, the colour was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different colour: a strange ochre, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. She didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making her crazy in the literal sense of the word. Eyes didn't just change colour like that, at least, human eyes didn't. No…she really shouldn't have asked Jake about the legends. She looked down, his hands were clenched into hard fists again.

Mr. Banner came to their table then, to see why they weren't working. He looked over their shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers. "So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Bella," Edward corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three of the five."

Mr. Banner looked at her; his expression was sceptical. "Have you done this lab before?" he asked.

She smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."

"Whitefish blastula?"

"Yeah."

Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"

"Yes." And oh how she missed it, missed being challenged by her classwork.

"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away.

After he left, she began doodling on her notebook again.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked.

She had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with her. Paranoia swept

over her again, it was like he had heard her conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove her wrong. "Not really," she answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. She was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and couldn't concentrate.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.

"Or the wet," she shrugged.

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.

"You have no idea," she muttered darkly. She held no fondness for the town, she was here for Charlie and Renee, that was all. She would make the most of her time in Forks, to reconnect with her Dad but for College she was applying everywhere warm and sunny.

He looked fascinated by what she'd said, for some reason she couldn't imagine. His face was such a distraction that she tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded. "Why did you come here, then?"

No one had asked her that, not straight out like he did, demanding. "It's… complicated," she shrugged, not really wanting to explain. She doubted he'd gossip about it like Jessica and Lauren might but that didn't mean she wanted to tell him.

"I think I can keep up," he pressed.

She paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused her, and she answered without thinking. "My mother got remarried."

"That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic. "When did that happen?"

"Last month." Her voice sounded sad, even to her, which was ridiculous. She liked Phil and her Mom deserved a chance at happiness.

"And you don't like him," Edward surmised, his tone still kind.

"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough." They weren't really close but that was probably more her fault than his.

"Why didn't you stay with them?"

She couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at her with penetrating eyes, as if her dull life's story was somehow vitally important. "Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." She half-smiled.

"Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.

"Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot." How much more hectic would their lives have been if he was in the major league? Could she have left her Mom to deal with that alone?

"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him," he said it as an assumption again, not a question.

Bella's chin raised a fraction. "No, she did not send me here. I sent myself." She forced herself to calm down, he wasn't accusing anyone.

His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact. Seriously, what was so fascinating about her family situation? Maybe it was because of his own blended family? Had he ever known his biological parents, or had he only known the Cullen's? That might explain things. He continued to stare at her with obvious curiosity.

"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy… so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie, my Dad. Just under two years till I'm off to college and it felt right to spend time with him."

"But now you're unhappy," he pointed out gently and she smiled slightly.

She shrugged, "Maybe a little, but it's worth it."

"That doesn't seem fair," he shrugged in return, but his eyes were still intense.

She laughed without humour. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair." Though it was kind of sweet that he thought it should be. Fair would have been her parents never divorcing in the first place. Then again, fair would be his living happily with his birth parents.

"I believe I have heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.

"So that's all," she insisted, wondering why he was still staring at her that way.

His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."

She grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out her tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.

"Am I wrong?" he pushed, and she tried to ignore him. "I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.

"Why does it matter to you?" Bella asked, irritated. She kept her eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.

"That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that she wondered if he was talking to himself.

However, after a few seconds of silence, she decided that was the only answer she was going to get. Bella sighed, scowling at the blackboard.

"Am I annoying you?" he asked, he sounded amused.

She glanced at him without thinking… and told the truth again. "Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read, my mother always calls me her open book."

"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that she'd said, and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.

"You must be a good reader then," she offered, and he nodded.

"Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultra-white teeth.

Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and she turned with relief to listen. Bella was in disbelief that she'd just explained her boring life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise her….and may or may not drink blood. He'd seemed engrossed in their conversation, but now she could see, from the corner of her eye, that he was leaning away from her again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension. She tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what she had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But her thoughts were unmanageable. When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully

from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, she stared after him in amazement.

Mike skipped quickly to her side and picked up her books. She imagined him with a wagging tail. "That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."

"I didn't have any trouble with it," Bella said, stung by his assumption. She regretted the snub instantly. "I've done the lab before, though," she added before he could get his feelings hurt.

"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as they shrugged into their raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.

She tried to sound indifferent. "He was stressing over his audition."

"Audition?"

"For a musical school," she answered, hoping that wasn't meant to be a secret or something. She couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as they walked to Gym. Mike was on her team today. He chivalrously covered her position as well as his own, so her wool-gathering was only interrupted when it was her turn to serve; her team ducked warily out of the way every time she was up.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Talking to her was difficult but he managed, trying to understand her. She had moved to a town she hated so her Mother could travel with her new husband? Selfless. He was glad she was here, for the Chief's sake, personally he wished they didn't share any classes, it would be safer that way.

"Okay?" Emmett's voice reached him from his brothers class.

"No bloodshed," he promised. As soon as the bell rang he was up and moving, needing a break from the tantalising scent of her blood and he found Jasper and Alice falling into step with him.

"You're doing great Edward," Alice promised, and Jasper nodded, he'd been monitoring Edward and Bella's emotions.

"You confuse her," Jasper told him. "She didn't understand your interest in her family life but then something changed…" he shrugged, he just read emotions, not minds. He could work some things out, match emotions to what someone said, but she'd said nothing about whatever theory she'd come up with for Edward's interest.

Alice stayed quiet, making sure to hide her knowledge from Edward. She hadn't seen this coming….Bella knew they were vampires, she just didn't believe it yet. One of the Quileute had broken the treaty. Though with no wolves the young ones probably thought they were just old legends to laugh at. In none of her visions had Bella known this soon, what would that change? What would it take for her to truly believe what she'd been told in jest?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The rain was just a mist as she walked to the parking lot, but she was happier when she was in the dry cab. Bella got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. She unzipped her jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed her damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home. She looked around to make sure it was clear. That's when she noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from her, and staring intently in her direction. Bella swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in her haste. Lucky for the Toyota, she stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that her truck would make scrap metal of. She took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of her car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. She stared straight ahead as she passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, she would swear she saw him laughing. She felt a flash of hurt but brushed it off, why should she care if he laughed at her? They weren't friends or anything. She was being silly.

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Edward laughed when Bella nearly hit another car but then he caught her eye briefly and he felt a flash of shame for laughing at her. He watched her drive away before getting in to drive as Alice and Jasper joined him. He would hunt again tonight, he would make sure to remain well fed, to take no risks.

 _TBC…_

 _So Jake told her the legend earlier than in canon, putting the thought in her mind before Edward ever stopped a van hitting her._


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: not mine_

 _edited and re-posted for some errors_

 **Chapter 6**

Bella sat in her chair by the window, staring out at the woods behind the house. The temperature was continuing to drop as Halloween approached. Maybe they'd have a white Christmas, which would be very different. It had been a week since Edward had talked to her and she still wasn't sure what to think of him. They hadn't spoken much since, but he would say hello and ask how her day was in Biology and she would answer. She should be avoiding him entirely after her brainless and embarrassing babbling on Monday. And she was suspicious of him; why had he lied about his eyes? Bella was still frightened of the hostility she sometimes felt emanating from him, and she was still tongue-tied whenever she pictured his too perfect face. She was well aware that her league and his league were spheres that did not touch. So she shouldn't be at all anxious to see him and yet every day she felt the same.

She felt a lot more comfortable around Alice and Jasper. How could anyone be unhappy around Alice? Though she did wonder how much sugar she had every day. Maybe it was the happiness of being with Jasper? They were so sweet together, he was so attentive and gentle with Alice. Jasper tended to be reserved and keep a little bit of distance, but he would still greet her. She did wonder if maybe he was ill or perhaps physically disabled in some way as he always seemed to be in some level of pain, but she wouldn't ask, it was up to him if he wanted her to know. It was weird, most people found Jasper intimidating but she didn't understand why. Yeah, he was tall and quiet, and she could tell there was muscle hidden under his sweaters, but he was also very academic, she'd seen him a lot reading military history books outside of class while waiting for Alice. The way other people avoided the whole family was just wrong, they were just like everyone else once you got past the movie star looks and nice cars.

That led to thoughts of her trip to La Push and the legends Jake had shared with her. Why couldn't she put them from her mind? Vampires and people turning into wolves….it was a fairy tale, well, horror story really. She was too old to believe in such things anymore.

That night she dreamt of Jacob blurring into a massive wolf and attacking Alice only for Jasper to come to her rescue. She jolted awake and for a second she could have sworn someone was in her room but when she turned the lamp on she was alone, her window open. Shivering she got up and shut it, locking it. She needed to remember to close it with how cold it was getting at night.

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Edward dropped to the ground, hearing her heart rate slow. Had she seen him? She had reached for the lamp after all…hopefully she would assume it to be the last of whatever she'd been dreaming. It was frustrating, to know nothing, to be able to hear nothing from her, even when she was relaxed in sleep. He knew he shouldn't be watching her sleep, he'd been raised a gentleman, but constant exposure to her scent made it easier to ignore in class.

He ran home and entered the house, feeling the disapproval Jasper was projecting, his brother knew where he'd been. And then his hand flew up to catch...a shirt? The scent wafting from it was immediately obvious and he looked over at Alice. "Alice?"

"She saw you, you're lucky she thinks it was her imagination. This is a little less creepy," she answered from her place in Jasper's lap, her head on his shoulder.

Edward nodded and headed upstairs to his room, putting her shirt on his couch before turning his stereo on and moving to do his homework, it only took a few minutes. He felt sorry for his classmates who spent hours on the work, although he'd seen Bella do hers relatively quickly. It appeared that Forks High was not challenging her academically.

"It'll be sunny tomorrow, Esme called the school this earlier," Alice told them all and Edward sighed softly. He should hunt anyway.

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Bella was shocked to wake to sunlight across her face. She scrambled up and over to the window, seeing the clear, blue sky, and grinning. She grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom to shower and dress before heading down to start on breakfast, humming,

"Someone's happy this morning."

"It's sunny!" She grinned and he laughed as she plated up. He ate quickly and grabbed his gun belt.

"Have a good day at school kiddo."

"Stay safe Dad," she answered as he left. Forks was pretty quiet crime wise, usually he ended up helping find lost hikers but as a police officer there was always some kind of risk. She washed up the dishes then grabbed her bag and coat, getting into her truck for the drive to school.

She was surprised not to see the Cullen's cars in the lot but headed to class. Class passed by until it was finally time for lunch, and everyone sat on the benches outside, taking advantage of the sun, she was one of the few in long sleeves, although she'd left her coat in her truck. She glanced around, missing her ritual hello with Alice and Jasper.

"They aren't here," Lauren said, and Bella frowned.

"Pardon?"

"The Cullen's. Anytime its remotely sunny Dr. and Mrs. Cullen pull them out of school to go hiking and camping."

"I tried that with my parents, no joy," Jessica pouted, and Lauren laughed.

"You don't camp Jess."

"I could."

"The school lets them?" Surely that was too many absences?

"With their grades? Yeah, they always keep up anyway," Jessica shrugged, and the subject was dropped, instead they began chatting about the Halloween dance.

"You are you going as?" Jessica asked and Bella shook her head.

"I don't do dances," she answered quickly. "Not too fond of Halloween either," not after the disaster when she was eight.

That got her some weird looks, but they ignored her while they talked about who they hoped would ask them and what sort of costume to get, within the school dress code.

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The next day was gloomy again and the Cullen cars were in the lot when Bella arrived.

"Hi Bella!" Alice called and Bella turned, waving to the couple as they walked towards her.

"Hi Alice, Jasper. Did you have fun hiking yesterday?"

"We did," he answered with a small smile.

It was odd…were their eyes lighter? It had to be the lights in the hallway playing tricks, right?

Alice grinned. "Soooo….Halloween dance?" she asked and then laughed when Bella groaned.

"I don't dance, and I don't like Halloween," she grumbled, and Jasper chuckled.

"Been asked a bit?"

"Just a bit," she admitted, shifting her bag. She was surprised when Jasper held his hand out in offering but Alice smiled so Bella let him take her bag as they walked to the lockers. "Thanks Jasper. I'm thinking of heading to Florida that weekend, see my Mom."

"That would be nice," Alice agreed.

Bella took her bag back and emptied what she didn't need into her locker. "Well It'll be my first Christmas away from her in years so I thought it would be a good compromise."

"At least with only a weekend you won't be driving your truck down," Jasper offered, he'd been talking to her more lately and she was glad. He seemed like he needed more friends.

"Hey, don't hate the truck," she mock pouted and he chuckled again before kissing Alice on the cheek and then walking away to his own classes. Alice watched him go and Bella smiled. "You're lucky," she whispered, and Alice looked at her, smiling softly.

"You don't think it's weird?"

"Why? Because you're foster siblings? You're not actually related," Bella shrugged.

"Thanks Bella. I'll see you at lunch."

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Bella collapsed on her bed, happy to be home, even if it seemed to have gotten even colder while she was in Florida. It had been good to see her Mom and Phil, and she was happy he'd been signed to a team for the coming summer. Florida was making them happy so she hoped the team would keep Phil on for at least two seasons. She had enjoyed the heat, but she missed the quiet of Forks, something she'd never thought she'd say. School may be boring but at least she had friends here. It made a nice change from Phoenix.

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Bella woke up slowly and blinked, something was different. It was the light. It was still the grey-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. She realised there was no fog veiling her window. She jumped up to look outside, and then groaned in horror. A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of her truck, and whitened the road. But that wasn't the worst part. All the rain from the day before had frozen solid, coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. Bella had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it might be safer for her to go back to bed now. A white Christmas was a nice idea, but why did it have to snow in November? School was going to be a disaster.

Charlie had left for work before she got downstairs. In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having her own place, and she found herself revelling in the aloneness instead of being lonely. She threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton.

It took every ounce of her concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. She almost lost her balance when she finally got to the truck, but she managed to cling to the side mirror and save herself. Clearly, today was going to be nightmarish. Driving to school, she distracted herself from her fear of falling by thinking about Mike and Eric, and the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to her in Forks. She was sure she looked exactly the same as she had in Phoenix. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched her pass slowly through all the awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of her that way. Perhaps it was because she was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far between. Possibly her crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting her as a damsel in distress. Then again, she had been getting better every year when it came to that clumsiness, so maybe all the hard work had finally paid off. She knew she wasn't model beautiful like the Cullen's, but she wasn't plain either, despite the lack of attention at her old school. Then again, she hadn't fit the stereotype there so that may be why she had been largely ignored. Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behaviour and Eric's apparent rivalry with him were disconcerting. Bella wasn't sure if she didn't prefer being ignored.

Her truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. She drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street. When she got out of her truck at school, bundled in her jacket and many layers, she saw why she'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught her eye, and she walked to the back of the truck, carefully holding the side for support, to examine her tires. There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who knew how early to put snow chains on her truck. Her throat suddenly felt tight, she wasn't used to being taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught her by surprise. She was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when she heard an odd sound. It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. She looked up, startled.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Alice bounced on her heels when they heard Bella's truck approaching. She had missed her friend over the weekend while she was away, but she'd kept an eye on her, seeing how happy her visit made her Mother. She heard Jasper chuckle, enjoying her emotions. She turned to smile at him before looking back at where Bella was checking out the snow chains Charlie had gotten up extra early to put on for her. Alice froze, a vision flitting before her eyes, seeing it so clearly to her sheer horror. And then she heard the screech in real life. "No," she whispered in horror.

Hearing her word, feeling her terror, Jasper's head snapped up and he saw the van hurtling for Bella's truck…Bella between the two vehicles and he didn't hesitate.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bella saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it did in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make her brain work much faster, and she was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once. Alice was standing across the lot, staring at her in horror, Jasper beside her, his own eyes widening. Their faces stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of her truck, and she was standing between them. She didn't even have time to close her eyes. Just before she heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit her, hard, but not from the direction she was expecting. Her head cracked against the icy blacktop, and she felt something solid and cold pinning her to the ground. She was lying on the pavement behind the tan car she'd parked next to. But she didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming. It had curled gratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with her again.

A low oath made her aware that someone was with her, and the voice was impossible not to recognize. She felt arms tighten around her body and then they were rolling fast across the pavement, the van coming to a stop inches from where they lay. A groaning metallic thud hurt her ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt, exactly where, a second ago, her legs had been. It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began.

In the abrupt bedlam, she could hear more than one person shouting her name. But more clearly than all the yelling, she could hear Jasper Hale's low, frantic voice in her ear.

"Bella? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," her voice sounded strange. She tried to sit up, and realised he

was holding her against the side of his body in an iron grasp.

"Be careful," he warned as she struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty

hard."

She became aware of a throbbing ache centred above her left ear. "Ow," yeah, she had hit her head when he tackled her. How? He'd been with Alice…it wasn't possible.

"That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter, even as cold fingers moved to gently probe the wound, the cold feeling nice.

"How in the…" she trailed off, trying to clear her head, get her bearings. "How did you get over here so fast?"

"I was standing right next to you, Bella," he said, his tone serious again.

She turned to sit up, and this time he let her, releasing his hold around her waist and sliding as far from her as he could in the limited space. She looked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented by the force of his gold-coloured eyes, feeling suddenly calm. What was she asking him? And then they found them, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at them.

"Don't move," someone instructed.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.

There was a flurry of activity around them. She tried to get up, but Jasper's cold hand pushed her shoulder down. "Just stay put for now."

"But it's cold," she complained, sitting on the ground really was freezing and then she felt another coat settle over her shoulders, wouldn't he be cold? "You were over there," she suddenly remembered, and he tensed. "You were by Alice." She looked at him. "Aren't you cold? Are you hurt?"

Jasper shook his head, "Easy Bella, I'm okay," he soothed, reaching out to gently feel her head again and she remembered his foster Dad was a doctor.

"I saw you." All around them was chaos. She could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But she obstinately held on to her observation; she was right, and he was going to admit it.

"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." He stared at her, golden eyes locked on hers, as if trying to communicate something crucial.

How could foster siblings all have the same eye colour, she'd never been this close to Jasper before, but she could see now they were almost the exact same shade as Edward's "No," she set her jaw.

The gold in his eyes blazed. "Please, Bella."

"Why?" she demanded.

"Trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice strained, and Bella hesitated even as he glanced over to where she knew Alice had been.

She could hear the sirens now. "Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"

He turned back to her, staring and she crossed her arms. "Some secrets aren't mine to tell," he sighed.

"But some are," she shot back, wincing as her head throbbed.

It took six EMTs and two teachers, Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp, to shift the van far enough away from them to bring the stretchers in. Jasper vehemently refused his, and she tried to do the same, but the traitor told them she'd hit her head and probably had a concussion. She almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire

school was there, watching soberly as they loaded her in the back of the ambulance. Jasper got to ride in the front, and she saw Alice get in her car, obviously going to meet them there. It was maddening.

To make matters worse, Charlie arrived before they could get her safely away. "Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized her on the stretcher.

"I'm completely fine, Char — Dad," she sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."

He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. She tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in her head. When they'd lifted her away from the car, she had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper, a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Jasper's shoulders… as if he had braced himself against the car with

enough force to damage the metal frame when he had first grabbed her. And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, Emmett showing disapproval while Rosalie was furious, but there was no hint of concern for their brother's safety. Only Alice had looked relieved and that look had been aimed at Bella, not her boyfriend. A fancy car drove into the lot as she was watching and she knew it was Edward, would he be concerned for his brother? She tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what she had just seen, a solution that excluded the assumption that she was insane.

Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. Bella felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading her. What made it worse was that Jasper simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. She ground her teeth together.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jasper could feel Bella's embarrassment and frustration, overriding her pain for the most part. He couldn't believe what he'd done. He'd felt Alice's terror and grief and then he'd seen the acceptance and fear in Bella's, had felt it, and he had just moved. He had risked them all to save his wife's best friend…his possible mate. What else could he have done? Edward had just been arriving, if her blood had been spilled…well the results wouldn't have been pretty.

"Carlisle," he whispered, knowing he would hear him as the ambulance drove into the emergency bay.

"Jasper?"

"There was a car accident, EMT's are bringing Bella and another student in."

"How badly is she hurt?" Carlisle asked as the ambulance parked and Jasper got out. He walked towards the doors as Carlisle appeared.

"She hit her head on the pavement pretty hard, but she was conscious though in pain," he answered as he walked towards his 'Father'. "I…I pulled her out of the way…it would have killed her," he admitted softly, and Carlisle gripped his shoulder.

"Did anyone see?"

"Just Bella. I couldn't let her die, Alice cares so much about her…she was scared but accepting, she knew she was going to die. Edward was just arriving too, if he'd smelt her blood we wouldn't have been able to stop him in time."

"It's alright Jasper, go wait in my office, I'll say I examined you there."

Jasper nodded and went into the office to sit on the couch, head in his hands.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

They put Bella in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel patterned curtains, she was pretty sure it was the same bed as when Dr. Cullen had given her stitches. A nurse put a pressure cuff on her arm and a thermometer under her tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give her some privacy, she decided she wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. When the nurse walked away, she quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed. There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to her.

She recognised Tyler Crowley from her Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than she felt. But he was staring anxiously at her. "Bella, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine, Tyler — you look awful, are you all right?" As they spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.

He ignored her. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong…" He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.

"Don't worry about it; you missed me."

"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…"

"Umm… Jasper pulled me out of the way."

He looked confused. "Who?"

"Jasper Hale, he was standing next to me." She'd always been a terrible liar; she didn't sound convincing at all, but she wasn't the only one with a head injury.

"Hale? I didn't see him… wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?" Tyler asked in alarm.

"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher." She knew she wasn't crazy. What had happened? There was no way to explain away what she'd seen. She refused to let the thought form, no, she would not think of…vampires. Urgh! They wheeled her away then, to X-ray her head. She told them there was nothing wrong, and she was right. Not even a concussion. She'd gotten good at working out her own injuries over the years. She asked if she could leave, but the nurse said she had to talk to a doctor first. So she was trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler's constant apologies and promises to make it up to her. No matter how many times she tried to convince him she was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, she closed her eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling.

"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. Her eyes flew open. Jasper was standing at the foot of her bed, frowning.

"Hey, Jasper, I'm really sorry —" Tyler began.

Jasper lifted a hand to stop him. "No blood, no foul," he said, with a smile that was closer to a grimace. He moved to sit on the edge of the empty bed on her other side, facing her. "So, what's the verdict?" he asked me.

"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," she complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"

"It's all about who you know," he answered with a small grin. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."

Then a doctor walked around the corner, and Dr. Cullen smiled softly at her. "So, Miss Swan, we meet here again," he teased gently, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she said, for the last time, she hoped. "I was kind of hoping to avoid having to see you again, no offence."

"None taken," he assured her, walking to the lightboard on the wall over her head, and turning it on. "Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Jasper said you hit it pretty hard."

"It's fine," she repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Jasper.

The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along her skull. He noticed when she winced. "Tender?" he asked.

"Not really," she'd had worse.

She heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Jasper's amused smile. Her eyes narrowed and he held his hands up in surrender, neither noticing the surprised look Carlisle shot them at their interaction.

"Well, your father is in the waiting room, you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."

"Can't I go back to school?" she asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive.

"Maybe you should take it easy today."

She glanced at Jasper. "Does he get to go back to school?"

"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Jasper offered.

"Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."

"Oh no," she moaned, covering her face with her hands.

Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"

"No, no!" she insisted, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly, she staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught her, looking concerned. "I'm fine," she assured him again. No need to tell him her balance problems had nothing to do with hitting her head.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied her.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," she insisted.

"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed her chart with a flourish.

"Lucky Jasper happened to be standing next to me," she amended with a glance at the subject of her statement.

"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Then he looked away, at Tyler, and walked to the next bed. Whatever it was, Dr. Cullen was in on it. "I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.

As soon as the doctor's back was turned, she moved to Jasper's side. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she hissed under her breath. He took a step back from her, frowning.

"Your father is waiting for you," he reminded her.

She glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler. "I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," she pressed.

He tensed, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. She nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as they turned the corner into a short hallway, he turned to face her and she was surprised to see something…wary in his eyes. "What is it?" he asked briskly.

His unfriendliness intimidated her; he'd never acted like that around her before. Her words came out with less severity than she'd intended. "Are you going to explain what happened?"

"Can't you just leave it at I saved your life?"

She flinched back from the pain in his voice. "You said some secrets weren't yours to tell and I can understand that. Please Jasper."

"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about," he tried, and she glared defiantly in reaction.

"There's nothing wrong with my head," she snapped, feeling a flare of pain in her head as if it was disagreeing with her words.

He sighed tiredly, running a hand through his hair. "What do you want from me, Bella?"

"I want to know the truth," she said. "I want to know why I'm lying for you." For the first time she was seeing why others found him intimidating.

"What do you think happened?" he asked.

It came out in a rush. "All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me, Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both, and it didn't, and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all, and the van should have smashed my legs, but you rolled me way too fast." She could hear how crazy it sounded, and she couldn't continue. She was so mad she could feel the tears coming; she tried to force them back by grinding her teeth together.

"Nobody will believe that, you know," he warned.

"I'm not going to tell anybody," she said each word slowly, carefully controlling her anger and he flinched slightly, almost like he could feel how angry she was.

Surprise flitted across his face. "Then why does it matter?"

"It matters to me," she insisted. "I don't like to lie — so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."

"There is a good reason and its better, safer, if that is all you know. Please Bella, leave it."

She crossed her arms and just waited, earning another tired sigh.

"You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"No."

"Bella please," he whispered.

"Jasper! Bella!" they both turned to see Alice rushing towards them. "Are you alright?" She demanded and Jasper pulled her into his arms, leaning his head down on her head.

"I'm fine Darlin'."

"I'm fine too," Bella offered when Alice looked at her and Alice smiled.

"I'm so glad you're okay. Good thing Jazz was so close."

"Yeah. I better go, see you tomorrow," Bella turned and headed for the waiting room, knowing she wasn't going to get any answers that day.

The waiting room was more unpleasant than she'd feared. It seemed like every face she knew in Forks was there, staring at her. Charlie rushed to her side; she put up her hands. "There's nothing wrong with me," she assured him sullenly. She was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.

"What did the doctor say?" Charlie demanded to know.

"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine, and I could go home," she sighed. Mike, Angela, Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on them. "Let's go," she urged.

Charlie put one arm behind her back, not quite touching her, and led her to the glass doors of the exit. Bella waved sheepishly at her friends, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief, the first time she'd ever felt that way, to get into the cruiser. They drove home in silence. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she barely knew Charlie was there. She was positive that Jasper's defensive behaviour in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things she still could hardly believe she'd witnessed.

When they got to the house, Charlie finally spoke. "Um… you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty.

Bella was appalled. "You told Mom!"

"Sorry."

She slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on her way out. Her Mom was in hysterics, of course. Bella had to tell her she felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged her to come home, forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment, but her pleas were easier to resist than she would have thought. She was consumed by the mystery Jasper and the rest of the family presented. She wasn't as eager to escape Forks as she should be, as any normal, sane person would be.

Bella decided she might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch her anxiously, and it was getting on her nerves. She stopped on her way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the pain eased, she drifted to sleep.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"What the hell were you thinking!"

"Rosalie!" Esme chided her immediately for her language and Jasper looked at his twin.

"I wasn't," he admitted.

"I saw the accident, Bella would have died, spilling blood right in front of Edward," Alice interjected. "It wouldn't have ended well for anyone. Jasper reacted to my emotions and Bella's."

"How is she?" Esme asked her mate who chuckled.

"Not enjoying the fuss but her scans were normal. She should be back at school tomorrow. Alice, does she suspect?"

"She's observant. She's known we're not normal the whole time and she's curious, but she won't tell anyone."

Carlisle nodded, it looked like they wouldn't have to move. He was glad her life had been saved, and not just because it meant Edward hadn't lost himself to the siren call of his Singer's blood.

 _TBC…_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

 _I went back and did some editing for ch6, now reposted._

 **Chapter 7**

School for the next few weeks was horrible, Tyler wouldn't leave her alone, continually trying to apologise despite how many times she told him it was fine. She tried to convince him that what she wanted more than anything else was for him to forget all about it, especially since nothing had actually happened to her, but he remained insistent. He followed her between classes and sat at the now-crowded lunch table. Mike and Eric were even less friendly toward him than they were to each other, which made Bella worry that she'd gained another unwelcome fan.

No one seemed concerned about Jasper, though she had explained over and over that he was the hero, how he had pulled her out of the way and had nearly been crushed, too. Bella tried to be convincing. Jessica, Mike, Eric, and everyone else always commented that they hadn't even seen him there until the van was pulled away.

She spent a lot of time wondering why no one else had seen him standing so far away, before he was suddenly, impossibly saving her life. With chagrin, she realized the probable cause, no one else was as aware of the Cullen's as she always was. No one else watched them the way she did. How pitiful. Jasper was never surrounded by crowds of curious bystanders eager for his firsthand account. She kind of wished he'd send some of that aura of danger her way to get them to all back off.

Jasper had barely spoken to her since the accident, though Alice was just as cheerful as always, waving and saying hello, waiting to chat by her locker. Edward kind of scared her, he'd stopped talking to her in class and would glare, as if the accident was her fault or something. Rosalie too had taken her disdain to new heights, though her boyfriend wasn't as hostile, thankfully. Emmett had to be the biggest guy in the whole school and he was intimidating to look at.

Then there were her dreams, strange nightmares featuring the Cullen's and the guys from the Res. Why had she ever wanted to know about those stupid legends?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jasper knew Bella still wanted answers, but she hadn't said anything to anyone. She'd stuck with what he'd said, that he had been standing with her when the van hit and had gotten them both out of the way. He didn't like being at odds with the family, but he stood by what he had done. Saving Bella had stopped a massacre that could have brought very unwanted attention down on them.

Edward was angry over something the younger vampire hadn't even done, he'd seen it in Alice's head though, what would have happened if Bella had been hit. Rosalie was mad at Jasper for risking their exposure, even though he had been saving them from an event that really would have exposed them. Carlisle and Esme were happy Bella had been saved but were concerned she would say something. Alice was the only one happy with the way things had gone. He was happy he'd saved her and that disaster had been averted, but he just wished it hadn't been necessary. He didn't know what to say to her that wouldn't reveal the truth but would make her happy enough to drop it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bella was thankful when school broke for Christmas. It meant less dealing with the ice and snow and hopefully by the time class started up again everyone would be over the accident.

"Bella!" Alice called as everyone was leaving the school and she turned to smile at her friend, seeing Jasper in his usual spot just behind her.

"Hey," she smiled at them both and then was surprised when Alice darted in for a brief hug. "I hope your family has a happy Christmas."

"Thank you Bella," Jasper offered, seeming surprised by her words.

She had decided, whatever their secrets were, they weren't worth the friendship of these two. "Let me guess, skiing?" she asked and Alice laughed.

"Maybe. Here," she passed over an expertly wrapped present. "For you and your Dad."

"Alice…"

"Don't worry about it. Consider it a late welcome to town present if you don't like Christmas presents. We'll see you after the holidays."

"Merry Christmas Bella," Jasper smiled and then they were gone.

Bella but the gift in her bag and headed out, glad to be going home.

Charlie had gone with some of the guys from the Res to get a tree for Christmas and they spent the weekend decorating it and the house. Bella drove into Port Angeles with Angela on the Monday to get their Christmas shopping finished.

Christmas day she got up early to begin cooking for lunch since the Black's would be joining them. When Charlie got up they opened the presents under the tree. He was surprised by their having a gift from the Cullen's but thankfully it was thoughtful and not overly expensive. Charlie lacked a lot of kitchen equipment that she was used to so the gift was a gift certificate to a kitchen store as well as a pair of matching coffee mugs for the caffeine addicted family. Renee's gift to Bella was some books she'd been wanting for a while, while Charlie got her a new winter jacket.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Carlisle watched the way Edward struggled but he didn't know what else to do for his son. Alice and jasper were doing their best to keep him supplied with a source of Bella's scent to ensure he was as desensitised as possible. Knowing he would have gone on a blood induced frenzy at school had definitely hurt him and Carlisle was unsure how to help it. As much as it saddened him, Edward had once hunted humans, so his son knew how to accept that guilt. Slaughtering innocent classmates would have been very different though, Edward had only ever hunted those who preyed on the weak. And once he had returned home he'd never slipped up once.

Rose was just relieved they weren't moving again so soon, though if Miss Swan began to push or Edward's struggles became worse, they may move for everyone's safety. Alice was very much against that though, obviously she knew something but was keeping it secret from everyone, even Jasper.

It was a relief to leave Forks and spend Christmas with their 'cousins' in Denali, even if it meant poor Edward was forever fending off the girls advances.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

When school returned things seemed back to normal between her, Alice and Jasper, something she was very thankful for. Even in winter, whenever the sun came out, their family went camping and hiking. She thought they were crazy, even with the sun out it was freezing!

She went to the movies a handful of times with the group, they weren't really movies she was interested in but it was good to get out with the group, even if the guys still thought that she was interested in them. At school she sat and laughed with the girls as Mike organised snowball fights.

It was mid-February before Bella got up the nerve to ask Alice something she had been considering for a while.

"Hey Alice?"

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Alice looked over at Bella, wondering if today she would finally ask. She kept having visions of her doing so, only for Bella to change her mind at the last second. After discussing it with Jasper they had agreed they would say yes, Bella just had to ask.

"Hey Alice?"

"Yes Bella?"

"I…" she took a deep breath and Alice smiled as the vision came back. "Would you like to come over to my place this afternoon? Jasper is invited too, if you want."

"We'd love to!" She smiled happily, relieved when Bella relaxed and smiled back at her.

"Great, that's great."

"We'll follow you, though I'm pretty sure everyone knows where the Police Chief lives. I'll call Esme and let her know too."

"Okay, I'll see you after class," Bella called as she dashed off to her next class.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jasper parked the car and got out, looking up at the house. He was usually approaching from the trees to steal or return an item of clothing so he'd never just stopped to look before. It was a nice house, could use a little work like some fresh paint, but it felt…homey. It wasn't flashy and grand like the houses they lived in. He smiled as Alice took his hand and they walked up to where Bella was unlocking the door. He'd never been invited over to another students house before so he wasn't entirely sure what they were meant to do.

"Come on in," Bella smiled nervously and he wondered if it was because of what they were, even if she didn't actually know, or something else. She'd shown no real instinctive fear of them like the others at school did but it was different being alone in a house with them than surrounded by hundreds of witnesses. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"Just water is fine," Alice answered for them as they took off their shoes and coats, following Bella into the living room. He listened as the two women chatted while Bella got the water, his eyes drawn to a wall of photos. He smiled as he realised they were all of Bella at different ages, starting from a newborn, the only picture with both Charlie and a woman he assumed was her Mother in it.

"I keep telling Charlie to take them down, it's so embarrassing."

"Why?" he asked. "I think it's sweet." Those pictures obviously meant the world to the Chief, likely since he so rarely saw Bella.

"I guess…" they moved to the couch and Alice soon drew Bella into a discussion on their essay for English. He then chimed in when they started talking about history since it was his favourite subject. It was unsurprising to hear Bella wasn't being challenged by the classes, he was the grade ahead and he'd noticed she was bored with most of her classes. A large school like her old one would have had a lot more options. By coming to stay with her Father, at such a small school…she was likely hurting her options for the future. That wasn't right. He caught Alice's proud look and smile and he knew she'd seen something due to his thoughts. They could easily pay for a 'scholarship' to a good university when the time came. Bella didn't have to know it was from them.

Conversation flowed easily and the joined her in the kitchen when she began making dinner. He glanced at Alice, were they going to have to eat or would they give their apologies before the meal? And then he heard Bella yelp and spun, seeing the dish of hot water falling toward her and once again he reacted, darting in to protect her from the burns, feeling the water splash against his back.

 _TBC…_

 _Sorry for the long wait and I know its shorter than previous chapters. It's been fighting me._


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: not mine_

 **Chapter 8**

She yelped, knowing in a second that she was going to end up with burns but then she felt movement, gasping as she realised solid arms were wrapped around her even as she was suddenly facing Alice. What? She heard the thud of the pot hitting the kitchen floor, her heart racing from adrenaline. Jasper? She slumped in his hold, panting and then her eyes widened and she was struggling to turn in his arms.

"Jasper?" How had he not made any noise of pain at getting splashed with boiling water. "You need to get into a cold shower, quick. Then we…we need an ambulance," she rambled. She finally got turned around, staring up into golden eyes. "Jasper you need to move, the burns will just get worse."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Hearing Bella so worried for him felt…nice. He could feel her fear but it wasn't of him, it was for him. He glanced up at Alice, how was he meant to hide this? His clothing was wet, he should be burnt, but she just smiled at him. Had she seen this coming? Then why? He felt Bella begin to try and get free and slowly let her go…and he didn't want to. She was so warm and soft, but he didn't want her blood.

"Jasper?" Bella called his name again and he looked down at her, feeling her confusion.

"It's okay Bella, Jasper is fine," Alice finally spoke up.

"But…" she glanced over at Alice and then back at him and he glanced at his wife, she had wanted this, she wanted Bella to know.

"I'm not hurt Bella," he promised, slowly turning to show his soaked jumper. He took a deep breath and then pulled it off, hesitating at his shirt, he hated showing his skin and for a good reason. Even human vision would pick up some of his scars and he didn't want her to be scared.

"It's okay Jasper," Alice whispered and he trusted her, he did.

He lifted his shirt, revealing pale skin with no redness or burns. He bit his lip as a warm hand pressed against his skin, it felt nice.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bella touched the skin of his back; it was cold though wet. How was that possible? The water had been boiling, he should be hot, burnt. She could feel small scars under her fingers…all over his back, what could have caused so many scars? She could just make some out but then Jasper was turning, pulling his shirt back down.

His skin was ice cold, hard…she'd never actually seen any of the family eat…they never came to school in the sun…it was crazy…wasn't it? She looked from Jasper to Alice, unsure what was going on, but Alice just smiled gently at her.

"It's okay Bella."

"How?" they were just crazy old ghost stories, weren't they.

"You've already guess," Alice answered, and Bella swallowed. Alice stepped closer and held her hand out. "Don't be scared Bella, you're perfectly safe with us," she promised.

This was crazy but… "Vampires?"

"Vampires," Jasper agreed softly.

Bella looked back at Alice and slowly reached out to her hand, Alice turning her wrist and she realised what she was offering so she pressed her fingers against cold skin, waiting…she couldn't feel her pulse. She stared at the pale wrist and then up at Alice who was still smiling at her. "Okay…vampires. Like the Quileute legends?"

Jasper nodded. "Carlisle made a treaty with the tribe many years ago that lets us live here in peace as long as we don't harm anyone."

"We don't drink human blood Bella; we call ourselves vegetarian vampires though we don't eat vegetable obviously. We drink from animals," Alice explained.

Bella sat down, mind spinning. It was really true?

"Bella?" Jasper called and she looked over at him, to find he'd rolled back a sleeve, her eyes widening as he picked up a sharp knife and then slid the blade along his arm. She stood and touched his arm, feeling more scars but finding no mark from the knife.

Okay, so they were vampires who didn't drink human blood, she could deal with that. "So Edward's issue with me?"

"You blood," Alice answered. "Everyone has a unique scent and some people smell better than others. You smell really good but your blood calls to Edward even more."

"Oh."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

As she explained, Alice felt things shift, the visions of Bella with Edward fading away. That left Jasper and Garrett as her possible mates. Seeing the way Jasper had reacted to Bella and her touch well…Alice hid her reactions behind her concern for how Bella was handling the truth. She loved Jasper but after seeing how happy he could be with Bella how could she stand in their way?

,,,,,,,,,,

Jasper felt a flicker of something from Alice, but his wife was focused on Bella. "We won't let anything happen Bella, we all keep a watch on him when you're in class together," he assured the young human.

He had felt an interesting mix of emotions from her but…there had been no real fear of them which was surprising. Was it because she knew them? Trusted them even now knowing what they were?

"You can't tell anyone," he warned her, trying to be stern but also gentle. He didn't want to scare her, but she had to understand how serious the situation was. "There are rules and telling humans is forbidden, if anyone finds out that you know then they'll come for you and us."

That got a flash of fear, but she nodded slowly.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

She hadn't planned to tell anyone but hearing what would happen…the idea she could get them all killed, because even if Jasper hadn't said it outright it was obvious what he meant, that scared her. It suggested that there were enough vampires out there to have some sort of organisation or government or something. She wasn't sure if that was a relief, that they had some form of laws, or if it made things scarier. "Why tell me?"

"You've been suspicious there was something different about our family all along, especially after Jasper saved you, and now this?" Alice shrugged.

Okay, that made sense. She'd never been able to fully put the stories out of her mind since Jake had told her. Wait… "Does that mean the story of wolves is true too?" she asked and the two exchanged a quick look. "Okay then. Forks, home of the Supernatural."

"There isn't a pack here now," Jasper quickly assured her.

Did that make it better? It was good to know Jake wasn't a wolf and hiding it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bella watched them drive away and then headed upstairs to finish her homework, in theory. In reality she collapsed on her bed to stare at the ceiling and think. They'd answered some questions about how different they were to the myths and Alice had agreed to meet up with her the next sunny weekend so she could see her in the sun. Vampires…it was crazy but there was no denying they weren't human. Did it change anything? They were still the same people she called her friends. It definitely explained why Jasper often appeared to be in pain, it'd be like living in a chocolate aisle or something.

She could never let anyone know she knew; she would not endanger her family. Her awe of Dr Cullen had gone up a million degrees. A vampire Doctor, he was incredible. The idea that Edward was drawn to her blood more than the others was…creepy. His reaction to Jasper saving her that day was ridiculous. Jasper had stopped not only her dying but Edward possibly massacring the other students because of her blood.

There was just so much to work through but…she still wanted to be their friend.

 _TBC…_

 _Not much I know but this has been stuck for ages so I decided to post it._


End file.
